


Equestria Girls: Volume 2

by ChristaWolf



Series: Tails of Sparks and Emmy [4]
Category: My Little Pony: Equestria Girls
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-18
Updated: 2020-09-20
Packaged: 2021-03-04 04:48:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 23,168
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24787969
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ChristaWolf/pseuds/ChristaWolf
Series: Tails of Sparks and Emmy [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1559458
Kudos: 1





	1. After Midnight: Part 1

It was just after the end of the Friendship Games. The buses from Crystal Prep rumbled off toward their end of Canterlot, and for once, Twilight Sparkle and Emerald Wave were not on board. Instead, both girls were walking along with their new friends and former competitors Sunset Shimmer, Gemini Shadow, Raven Sable, Vinyl Scratch, and Octavia Melody.

“So, where exactly are we going?” Emerald asked Sunset, as the grounds of CHS got further and further away.

Sunset smiled. “I was thinking we might all grab a bite to eat at Sugarcube Corner, it’s probably the best bakery in town. Ever been there?”

“I can’t say that I have,” Twilight admitted, tapping her fingers together. “I almost never ventured outside of inner Canterlot until I started researching magic.”

“Which we’ll have plenty of time to discuss,” added Gem, smiling. “And we shall! You’re our friends, so you have just as much right to know about magic as we do.”

“Thank you,” Twilight said, blushing slightly. “Really. I would’ve thought after everything that happened today; you’d try to warn me away from magic. I mean…” She looked down at her uniform shoes. “I did almost destroy the world.”

“Hey,” Sunset said, holding Twilight’s hand. “None of that self-hate, okay? It’s a bad habit. Remember what I said about having been where you are?”

Twilight nodded, “Yes, I remember… and I hope there’s a story behind it.”

Sunset smiled. “There is. Now come on girls, let’s get going.” They’d reached a crosswalk. The light turned green and the seven of them hurried across the street to a two-story [building](https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/mlp/images/e/e8/Sugarcube_Corner_EG.png/revision/latest?cb=20131103023620) that was, in fact, on the corner of the street. The building was composed of cream-colored bricks with pink awnings and some outdoor seating. A sign above the door shaped like a cupcake read “SUGARCUBE CORNER” in curly letters. Inside were more tables, chairs, and even a few couches and booths. The café was relatively sparsely attended given the late hour, but the girls hardly minded.

A blue-skinned woman with curly pink hair smiled as the girls entered. “Welcome back, ladies!” she said brightly. “Can I get your usuals?”

“At least for us, yeah,” said Sunset, gesturing to Gem, Raven, Vinyl, and Octavia. “These two can have whatever they would like.” She gestured to Twilight and Emerald, who were holding hands as if afraid to let go of the other.

Twilight approached the counter, not quite sure what to ask for. “I don’t really know what’s good here,” she said. “It’s my first time.”

Mrs. Cake smiled at both of them, “That’s alright, dearie. How about a half dozen donuts to split between you both, and two tall glasses of our dark chocolate milk? It’s made from real dark chocolate!”

Twilight smiled. “That sounds perfect. We’ll take it!” She reached into her jacket pocket for her wallet, but before she could take it out, Gem walked up and slid a plastic card from her purse and over to Mrs. Cake.

“No need to worry yourselves, girls,” Gem said warmly. “It’s our treat. Thank you, Mrs. Cake!”

“You’re welcome, girls!” Mrs. Cake said, quickly swiping Gem’s card then getting to work on preparing the girls’ orders.

The girls, meanwhile, went to sit in their usual nook, which contained a large couch and a small overflow table. Twilight, Emerald, Vinyl, and Sunset took seats on the couch (with Sunset sitting on one of the arms) while Raven, Octavia, and Gem sat at the table.

“So!” Gem began, clapping her hands once. “Where do we start? We have a lot of ground to cover.”

“How about introductions?” Octavia volunteered, “Since we’ve never all been formally introduced.” She smiled at Twilight and Emerald, “I am Octavia Melody, first chair cellist for the Canterlot High school orchestra.”

“And my smoking hot girlfriend,” added Vinyl, grinning. She took her shades off so she could see properly, revealing her magenta eyes that looked red at this time of day.

“Vinyl, honestly!” Octavia cried. “Have some decorum!”

Vinyl just grinned more, “Being tactless is part of my charm, Tavi. Being a goody two-shoes is _your_ job.” She smiled at Emerald, “Anyway, name’s Vinyl Scratch. You like music, Em?”

“I sure do,” Emerald replied. “All kinds, I even play guitar!”

“Good thing we have a band then,” Vinyl said. “Making three guitarists work might get hard, but I’m sure we’ll think of something.” She pointed at Sunset. “Over to you, pony-girl!”

Sunset chuckled. “I’m Sunset Shimmer,” she said, smiling from her perch. “And, technically speaking, I’m not really human.”

“You aren’t?” Emerald squinted. “Then how come you look just like us?”

“The magic portal I used to come to this world changed me into a human,” Sunset explained. “That was a few years ago. My real species is unicorn pony from a place called Equestria.”

“Equestria!” Twilight snapped her fingers. “You mentioned that after the Relay, I had no idea what you were talking about!”

Sunset nodded, “It’s my home dimension, yeah. Or I guess, where I was born. I’ve been living here for so long that I’ve come to see it as my actual home.” A bell dinged as she spoke, signaling that their orders were ready.

“I’ll get them!” Raven said, getting up at once. “Vinyl, wanna help?”

“No sweat, Sable,” Vinyl replied, shooting a finger gun at Raven.

They went to grab their snacks, quickly distributing them to their owners. Octavia and Gem both had tea and scones, Sunset had a bagel with cream cheese, Raven had a slice of cake, Vinyl had chips and a soda, and Twilight and Emerald had donuts and milk.

Once they all had snacks, the introductions continued. “I’m Gemini, but we met earlier today at lunch,” said she. “Let’s see… I suppose that just leaves you, dearest.” Gem smiled warmly at her girlfriend.

Raven nodded. “I’m Raven Sable, Gem’s girlfriend. Good to meet ya both!”

“You too,” Twilight said with a smile, taking a bite of her donut. It was chocolate with sprinkles. “Oh my gosh, this is the best donut I’ve ever had! Emerald, you _have_ to try this!”

Emerald picked out an identical donut from the box and took a bite. “Whoa… I’ve never had a donut this rich before! Ever!”

Sunset grinned, “Best bakery in town, no question about it.” After spreading cream cheese on her bagel and taking a bite, she said: “Alright, fair’s fair. You two want to know about magic, and we’re the girls who can tell you about it, so I guess all there is to ask is, what do you wanna know?”

Twilight tapped her chin thoughtfully. “I suppose the best place to start is the beginning… when did it arrive here?”

“Usable magic got here about six months ago,” Sunset replied. “When I brought a powerful magical artifact here from my world and used it to turn into a raging she-demon.”

“So _you_ were the she-demon!” Emerald gasped, pointing at Sunset. “Sparks, remember that video we saw on MyStable?!”

“Vividly,” answered Twilight. “That’s the video that started this whole thing!”

Sunset blanched. “Oh buck, there’s a _video_ on MyStable?” she asked, letting loose an Equestrian swear.

“Only on the CHS MyStable group,” said Vinyl at once. “I think I was the one who took it.” She took out her phone and tapped the screen several times, then held it out for everyone to see. Sure enough, a video of Sunset’s confrontation with the other Twilight was playing on the screen, taken from the perspective of the CHS front entrance.

As Sunset watched, she looked conflicted. “I don’t know whether to be angry, embarrassed, or impressed…”

Vinyl chuckled. “I’m a teenage girl, Sunny. We document _everything_ on our phones.” When that video ended, she moved to another post on the group, this time the impromptu live performance in the cafeteria convincing the rest of the CHS student body to vote for Princess Twilight for the fall formal, complete with Twilight’s solo vocal verse.

As the human Twilight watched a girl with her face sing a song about herself, she looked impressed and a little weirded out. “It is,” she eventually managed, “extremely strange to watch someone who looks like you do something. She’s me, and yet… _not_ me. You know what I mean?”

“I do,” said Gem, patting Twilight’s shoulder. “The lead character of my favorite science fiction program occasionally meets his other selves, all of whom are played by separate actors. So, maybe not exactly what you’re experiencing, but similar.”

Sunset nodded. “That other Twilight, she’s a princess in Equestria.” She took out her own phone, showing Twilight and Emerald a digitized version of a picture she’d taken in Equestria of herself and the Equestrian Emerald and Twilight. The pony Twilight’s wings were draped over the pony Emerald’s withers, and all three mares were smiling widely.

Emerald gaped. “No freaking way, that’s what _I_ looked like earlier today!” she said, pointing at her unicorn counterpart. “A ridiculously adorable mini horse!”

“Pony,” Sunset corrected patiently, “But yeah, we _are_ pretty cute.”

“What are our counterparts like?” Twilight asked. “Since it’s clear you two knew them before meeting us.”

Raven chuckled, “Well for starters? They’re dating, like you two are. I think the other Em is a Princess Consort or something over there.”

Sunset nodded, “Until she marries Twilight, at which point she will become a princess herself.”

“Wow…” Twilight was staring in amazement. “Just on the other side of that statue is a world where I’m a pony princess… I guess I have a lot to live up to.”

“Not necessarily,” Gem explained. “For example: Vinyl, the princess is right-handed, isn’t she?”

Vinyl nodded. “Yup. I have her application signature taped to my wall at home, her handwriting was so awful it’s more like abstract art than anything else.”

“And you, I seem to remember, are left-handed,” Gem continued, pointing to Human Twilight.

Twilight nodded. “Yes, but what does that have to do with anything? We’re still the same person, aren’t we?”

Gem shook her head. “Your left-handedness matters a great deal, because that means you are _not_ the same as the princess. She may share your name and your appearance, but neither you nor Emerald are exactly the same as your counterparts.”

Sunset nodded. “Unlike them, you’ve lived here all your lives, your experiences are different from theirs. Which means, you don’t have to follow her life path. You can be your own person!”

Twilight smiled, understanding now. “I think I see what you mean,” she said. “Thanks, girls.”

“You’re welcome,” said Gem, hugging Twilight briefly. “Now then… I believe we were discussing magic?”

“We were,” said Sunset, dragging the conversation back to where they’d left off. “So anyway! Princess Twilight’s crown is actually a powerful magical artifact in Equestria called an Element of Harmony. There are six of them, representing the six virtues of ponykind: Generosity, Loyalty, Honesty, Laughter, Kindness, and Magic.” As she spoke, she took out a piece of paper and a pencil and started to draw some diagrams. “When used together, they create the most powerful magic of all.” She looked at Twilight and grinned. “Know what it is?”

“The magic of friendship!” Twilight gasped. “Of course! That’s what you used on me!”

Sunset nodded. “And what the Princess and these four,” she gestured to everyone but Octavia, “used on me.”

Emerald blinked. “Why weren’t you there, Octavia?”

“Oh, my parents needed me for a fancy dinner,” Octavia explained. “So, I was out of town for a few days.”

Emerald nodded, turning back to Sunset. “So, the magic of friendship is pretty powerful stuff, huh?”

“It is,” Sunset confirmed. “It was able to turn me back to normal, and it helped me to see how awful I’d been acting toward everyone. Before the formal, I was basically the queen bitch of Canterlot High. After the formal, I started to clean up my act and get used to a magic-free life.”

“But then we ponied up for the first time,” Vinyl said.

Twilight blinked. “Excuse me?”

“Ponying up is what we call it when we do this,” Raven explained, playing a video of herself shifting into her anthro Pegasus form. “It doesn’t usually last long, but it’s pretty cool when it does happen.”

“Ah! I see!” Twilight nodded. “Continue, Sunset.”

“Well, we thought Princess Twilight had taken all the magic back with her when she went back to Equestria for the Fall Formal,” Sunset said, “but it turned out there was some left behind. Our friendship magic was powerful enough to generate a low-level magic field in the general area of CHS, which meant we could all still pony up.”

“And this magic field,” Twilight said, “I assume it works along the same principles as a magnetic field?”

Sunset nodded, “Something like that, yeah. The more magic there is in a place, the stronger the field gets and farther it spreads out. The portal’s been here for probably a thousand years or something, it was originally built by the great unicorn magician Starswirl the Bearded.”

“So, he’s a magician in your world! How interesting!” Twilight smiled. “Here, he’s a famous physicist!”

“Why am I not surprised…” Sunset chuckled a bit. “Anyway, that magic field has been around a while, and it’s only gotten stronger since we defeated the sirens.” She looked struck by a sudden thought. “Wonder how strong it’ll be now, with the portal damaged…”

“Damaged?!” echoed Twilight. “Oh no! I didn’t break it, did I?” She started to look anxious.

“No, I don’t think you broke it,” Sunset said, trying to sound reassuring. “All you destroyed was the horse, and that was just ornamental. The actual portal, which runs on magic of its own, is held within the plinth. Of course, the portal hasn’t been working since yesterday, so nothing would’ve happened right away anyway. It’s what will happen now that the portal is active again that I’m worried about.”

“Why?” Emerald asked.

“Well,” Sunset answered, “Like you saw, Equestrian magic carries a transformative component. Dark magic amplifies a person’s negative side and changes them into a form that can wield it better, like my she-demon form or whatever it was Twilight turned into today.”

“Let’s call it Midnight Sparkle,” Vinyl suggested. “If that’s cool with everyone.”

“I think that will do nicely,” Twilight agreed. “And when light magic is used, it turns humans into ponies, right?”

Sunset nodded. “Right. And as I said, the magic field around Canterlot has gotten pretty strong lately, which means there’s more magic around to induce transformations with.”

“And once that happens, there’s no stopping it,” Twilight realized. “The more magic you use, the stronger the field gets, and so on and so on until eventually, something will overload… it’s a feedback loop, but with magic instead of sound waves!”

“Bingo,” Sunset said. “If an overload happens, the transformative aspect of magic will take over, since it can’t be wielded by non-pony species. You could wake up one morning and find you have four legs, fur, and hooves instead of hands and feet.”

Twilight paled, starting to look frightened. “That’s not going to happen, is it?”

Sunset sighed heavily. “I really wish I knew… but I don’t.” She took out the journal she used to contact the princess with. “But I know somepony who does!” Grabbing a pen from somewhere, she quickly wrote a new note:

> _Hey Twilight, got some new for you._
> 
> _I think I understand how magic works in the human world now, but there’s another problem that I think I need your help with. The portal sustained damaged today and the girls and I are worried that there might be a leak. And if that happens… well, I’m sure you know what comes next. Let me know if you can come over, portal travel should still be pretty safe._
> 
> _Thanks,_
> 
> _Sunset Shimmer_

“Amazing… an analogue equivalent of a text message and a cell phone…” Twilight whispered, watching Sunset write.

Sunset closed the book. “I really hope she answers that one, but all we can do is wait and see.” She stretched and yawned. “Anyway, I think I’m gonna bounce. It’s been a heck of a day, and I really need a shower and some video games.” She smiled. “Any other questions before I go?”

“Do you think the princess will be mad at me if she does come?” Twilight asked. “I’m sure she saw those rifts I opened.”

Sunset shook her head, smiling warmly. “Nah, I think she’ll be fine. Twilight’s not the type to hold a grudge, she gives everypony a fair shot to change themselves. I’m sure she’ll do the same for you.” She gave Twilight one last hug, followed by the rest of her friends before heading for the doors.

But halfway there, she said, “Hey, girls? How about a picnic tomorrow afternoon by the portal? Maybe around one?”

Gem smiled. “I think that sounds like a splendid idea, Sunset. I’ll make us lunch!”

Sunset beamed. “Awesome, you’re probably the best chef out of all of us. See you tomorrow then!” Waving, Sunset headed out. By now it was getting dark, and the Cakes were starting to wipe down tables and stack up chairs.

“I guess that’s our cue to leave,” Vinyl said, throwing her trash away. “Ready to head home, Tavi?”

“Goodness, yes,” Octavia groaned, holding Vinyl’s hand as they too walked toward the doors. “Ah, but first… Twilight? Emerald?”

“Yes?” Twilight asked.

Octavia smiled at both of them. “Welcome to the herd.” Then, she and Vinyl made their own exit.

As the remaining girls disposed of their trash and departed, Twilight thought of something. “How are we going to get home? My parents don’t want me on the buses after dark, and the CPA ones left hours ago!”

Gem smiled. “Don’t worry, I’ll drive you. Just give me your address.”

Twilight nodded, quickly scribbling her address on a sheet of paper, which she handed to Gem. “Thanks, by the way. For everything.”

Gem smiled more. “You’re very welcome, ladies. Let us be off!” Holding Raven’s hand, she led the way out the doors and back toward CHS, where their cars were parked. They all piled inside Gem’s Aston, and as Gem drove off, none of them noticed a few magical sparks drifting from a crack in the stone plinth, where a horse had once stood.


	2. After Midnight: Part 2

“Thanks for the ride, Gem!” Emerald Wave called out to the driver of the silver Aston Martin, as she and Twilight Sparkle climbed out of the car’s back seats. The sun had gone down by now, and the first stars were coming out. Neither of the girls were terribly hungry, since they’d stopped off earlier to eat at Sugarcube Corner for their first official outing with their new friends.

“You’re welcome, girls!” Gem called back, smiling. “Goodnight and see you soon!” With a last wave, the grey-skinned girl drove off into the night, leaving Twilight and Emerald alone.

“Wow…” Emerald managed, walking up Twilight’s driveway to the house. “Talk about a busy day, huh?”

Twilight giggled. “You said it… I’m glad your moms agreed to let you stay over tonight.”

“After what I told them? They’d be ready to let me stay over for the rest of my life,” Emerald laughed, kissing Twilight’s cheek. “You know they love you as much as they do me, right?”

Twilight nodded, blushing. “Yeah… yeah. But what are we going to tell my parents? You know they’ll ask.”

Emerald shrugged. “Let’s see what Cadance says, she’s the only other person in your family who can corroborate what happened. Until then, keep it vague.”

“Got it,” replied Twilight, opening the door of the Sparkle family home. “Mom! Dad! Spike! I’m home!”

Spike barked joyfully and came running over, licking Twilight’s face a bunch in a flurry of hello kisses. Twilight laughed and snuggled the purple puppy close before putting him back down again, smiling all the while.

“Welcome back, honey,” Velvet said, hugging Twilight. “And good evening to you too, Emerald. I suppose you’re staying again tonight?”

Emerald nodded, “If it’s alright with you.”

Velvet smiled. “Of course it is. Our home is your home, Emerald.” She hugged the yellow girl tight, then asked, “Are you hungry? You missed dinner, but I can heat up some leftovers.”

Twilight shook her head, “We’re fine, we ate already. Can we go upstairs?”

Velvet nodded, “Certainly. Have fun, and don’t do anything I wouldn’t do!”

Twilight blushed so hard her cheeks turned violet. “MOM!”

Velvet only laughed, the sound of her voice echoing off the stairwell as the two girls climbed the stairs to Twilight’s bedroom, flopping gratefully onto Twilight’s bed shortly thereafter. Emerald even closed the door this time, so she and Twilight could have absolute privacy. After all, they had a lot to think about tonight.

“So…” Emerald said into the silence. “Penny for your thoughts?”

“Well…” Twilight looked over at her, “I’m not going to destroy my notes on magic.”

Emerald looked back. “Really? After everything?”

Twilight nodded. “I mean, don’t get me wrong… I’m still scared by it. But… I’m still fascinated by it. And I have reason to suspect it’s changing our world.”

“Suspect?” Emerald blinked. “The girls practically said so at Sugarcube earlier, remember?”

Twilight blushed. “Yes, I remember… I mean… I can _feel_ it changing now. I don’t know why I can, maybe it has something to do with the amulet, but… it feels like I’m standing outside as a storm rolls into town, only now I can feel the lightning in the clouds.”

“I see,” Emerald reflected. “That’s really interesting… never really thought about it that way.”

“Can you feel anything?” Twilight asked. “Since you spent most of today as unicorn?”

Emerald shook her head. “Nope, I’m just a regular old 100% human girl again. Which, honestly, is fine by me. I don’t really think I’d want to be a pony again.”

“Why not?” Twilight asked. “You seemed to acclimate to it very well.”

“That’s just it though,” said Emerald. “I acclimated to it so well that I started wondering how I could’ve ever been anything else. I wanted to eat hay and oats and apples and grass today, Sparks. I know that doesn’t sound like much, but trust me, having your entire appetite and everything else that makes you who you are change almost instantly is a weird experience. You know?”

Twilight nodded, and said sadly, “Yeah… I know.”

Emerald paled. “Oh geez… sorry, Twilight.” She pulled the purple girl close and stroked her hair. “I wasn’t thinking.”

“It’s alright, Emerald,” Twilight said softly, smiling a little. “It’s been a very long day for both of us… but I think things are looking up, don’t you?”

Emerald nodded. “Yeah. New friends, new school… I mean, I know we won’t be able to go to CHS until August, but it counts, doesn’t it?”

Twilight nodded. “It counts. To tell you the truth… even with everything that happened today… I’m happy.”

“You know what?” Emerald smiled. “I am too.” She reached out and flicked off the light, leaving the room dark aside from the stars outside, and the glow in the dark plastic ones stuck to the wall. “Sweet dreams, Sparks. I love you.”

“Goodnight, Emmy,” whispered Twilight. “I love you too.”

* * *

It didn’t take long for Emerald to wake up again, however. When she did, she found she was alone in bed, and sat up, looking around the room.

There in the corner was Twilight, sitting at her computer desk, her fingers making gentle clicking noises as she typed on her keyboard.”

Emerald squinted. “Sparks? What are you doing up?” She checked her phone. “It’s two in the morning…”

“I couldn’t sleep,” Twilight answered. “Or I guess I didn’t want to… I kept having really bad dreams. About… her.”

Emerald nodded. “Midnight Sparkle… yeah, I figured. Anyone would have nightmares after that.” She got up and went to sit next to Twilight, sitting on the edge of the bed. Twilight joined her, powering her computer down, and the two girls simply held each other, yellow and purple meshing together.

“Is there anything I can do to help you sleep?” Emerald eventually asked.

“Depends,” replied Twilight. “Do you have anything that can take care of nightmares?”

Emerald smiled. “Actually? I do. Check this out.” She reached into her backpack and pulled out a small plush wolf with grey fur and cream markings with vibrant bronze plastic eyes. “This is Christa, my guardian wolf. I’ve had her since I was a kid.”

“What’s a guardian wolf?” Twilight asked, picking up the plush. It… or rather, she, was designed in such a way that she was forever lying down, which made her easy to snuggle.

“Exactly what it sounds like,” Emerald said. “She keeps away the bad dreams, and you can tell her anything you want, and she’ll listen. Before I met you, she was my best friend in the whole world.”

“Aww,” Twilight cooed, smiling slightly. “That’s so cute! And now you’re giving her to me?”

Emerald nodded. “Don’t worry, I have a backup at my place. But right now? I think it’s safe to say you need her.”

“I think I do,” Twilight agreed, kissing the wolf on her little plastic nose, then kissing Emerald. “Thank you, Emmy… I really appreciate it.”

Emerald smiled at her and stroked Twilight’s hair. “Like I said… you’re the most wonderful, amazing, fantastic girl in two universes, Twilight Sparkle. And I’ll love you till the sun expands.” She kissed Twilight deeply, then asked her a question that had only come to mind the previous day, in the courtyard of CHS.

“I know we’re not even close to old enough… but after everything that’s happened, all I know is that you’re the only girl in the world for me… so I have to ask. When we’re old enough, and we’re ready…” Emerald gathered her courage. “Will you marry me?”

“Yes,” Twilight said, without an ounce of hesitation in her voice. “I will.”

Then they kissed again, but much slower and deeper than they had before. It was a soft and gentle kiss, one that said “We have our entire lives to love one another.” And as they kissed, they began to glow with magical power. They lifted into the air, their bodies shifting and morphing into their own versions of the anthro pony forms that Sunset and the girls possessed. Emerald became a unicorn again, while Twilight became an alicorn, just like her Princess counterpart.

Only breaking the kiss once they were fully transformed, Emerald took a look at herself, amazed. “Whoa… what the hell…”

“I wish it wasn’t two in the morning,” whispered Twilight. “I want _so_ much to run to the lab and run some experiments on our DNA… but if we wait, chances are we’ll be human again by morning, right? Sunset said these forms are temporary.”

Emerald nodded. “I have an idea… bear with me on this. Pluck a hair from your tail.”

Twilight blinked, “What? Why?”

“So that way, even if we change back, we’ll still have some samples to work with,” Emerald replied.

Twilight smiled. “Emmy, that’s a brilliant idea!” she enthused as quietly as possible. “You’re a genius!”

Emerald blushed. “You’re the genius in this relationship, I just hang around you a bunch.” Then, wincing, she plucked a few hairs from her tail. Twilight did the same and placed both sets of hairs into a small plastic bag she kept in her desk, which she then labeled with a marker.

Once that was done, Twilight got back into bed, this time holding the wolf plush to her chest, while Emerald wrapped her arms around her.

“Goodnight, Sparks,” Emerald whispered. “I love you.”

“Goodnight, Emmy,” Twilight whispered back. “I love you too.” Then, finally, the two of them fell asleep. And for once, Twilight’s dreams were peaceful.


	3. Twilight Squared

It was the morning after the Friendship Games. Twilight woke up first and stretched, half wondering if she’d still see a purple muzzle at the edge of her vision, but as she climbed out of bed and looked in the mirror by her closet, she found only her very human body instead. It was when she turned to face her closet that she thought she saw something amiss: a pair of equine ears poking through her hair, the same color as her skin.

Gasping, Twilight turned back to the mirror again, only to find that the pony ears had gone. There was only hair, and a close examination of the sides of her head revealed that her ears were still very human in shape, as they ought to have been.

“Curiouser and curiouser...” Twilight muttered to herself, turning back to her closet to pick something to wear. Today was Saturday, so she wouldn’t need her uniform. Instead, she went [with](https://bit.ly/3hLw2g8) a pink t-shirt with a picture of a crescent moon and a few stars on it, a purple skirt, black leggings decorated with pink stars, pale blue socks with white stripes, purple and white tennis shoes, and last of all a pink hair ribbon.

Twilight laid these items out, then went to go and take a shower, grabbing a towel from the linen closet. Entering the upstairs bathroom, she swiftly undressed and stepped inside the shower stall, turning on the water to her preferred temperature: 35 degrees Celsius.

As she worked shampoo into her hair, she had a sudden thought to do likewise with her tail, which swished around a bit as she moved around the stall... but then she blinked, and the tail was gone. Of course she didn’t have a tail, what was she thinking?

“I’m a human being,” Twilight whispered to herself. “Not a pony like Sunset, but a _human being_. That’s all.”

 _“Are you sure about that?”_ said a voice in her mind. It was not unlike her own, but lower... more seductive. Twilight shivered, suddenly cold despite the heat of the water. After all, it had only been just yesterday that she’d heard that voice coming from her own mouth.

Twilight looked at the mirror her dad used for shaving and screamed. Instead of her own face, she saw Midnight Sparkle’s looking back at her, glowing eyes and all, but with some [new](https://bit.ly/2NcsJ3I) touches: dark purple fur and ears, an angular equine muzzle, and fangs. Experimentally she lifted her hand and found it reflected at her as a hoof.

 _“What’s the matter?”_ purred Midnight, smirking at the frightened girl. _“Don’t you like our new body?”_

“It’s not _our_ anything!” Twilight exclaimed, suddenly very grateful for the thick interior walls of Sparkle Manor. “You’re gone! The magic of friendship destroyed you!”

Midnight laughed at that, her smirk growing wider. “Oh Twilight, don’t you remember? Energy can neither be created nor destroyed! I am a part of you, and I _always_ will be!” Her horn started to glow brightly as she called up her magic. “I think you and I need to spend some quality time together!” And with that, she lifted Twilight up in her magic and pulled her toward the mirror, which was now rippling like water...

* * *

Twilight sat bolt upright in bed, breathing heavily. That nightmare had been so _real_... and all the more terrifying. Putting on her glasses, she climbed out of bed and went across the room to her full-length mirror, checking every part of her for any sign of equinity, but she came up short. She was entirely human, and nothing more.

“Sparks?” asked a drowsy voice from behind her. “Everything okay?”

Twilight turned to find Emerald looking at her worriedly. She crossed the room again and sat back down on the bed, shaking her head. “Nightmare... a really bad one...” she managed to whisper.

Emerald pulled Twilight close and held her, kissing her on the cheek. “Oof... I’m sorry, Sparks... you want to know the good news though?”

“What’s the good news?” Twilight asked.

Emerald smiled and gestured to the window near the bed. The sky was lighting up with the approach of morning, and her alarm clock said it was 6:00 AM. “Nightmares can’t get you during the day,” Emerald said, slipping out of bed herself. “Come on! I think I can smell your mom making pancakes.”

Twilight brightened immediately. “I love pancakes!” she exclaimed, leaping off the bed and racing out of her room and down the stairs. Emerald followed after her, laughing to herself.

* * *

Since they had plenty of time to kill until the picnic in the afternoon, Twilight and Emerald elected to spend the morning doing science in Twilight’s laboratory. So, after breakfast, Twilight retrieved the plastic bag of pony tail hairs from her room and went out into the yard, where Emerald was waiting for her.

“You know, you _can_ unlock the lab now,” Twilight said with an amused smile, placing her hand on the reader. It scanned her print and glowed green, then the door unlocked. “You don’t need me to do it for you!”

Emerald shrugged as she followed Twilight inside. “Eh, it feels weird going in here without you. Like entering Dr. What’s time machine without her around.”

“Fair enough,” Twilight conceded, putting on her lab-coat and buttoning it up. She then took out her phone, opened the voice memo app, and spoke into it.

_“Twilight’s log, stardate 69759.3. A lot has happened since I recorded my last log entry. During the Friendship Games, I released all of the energy collected by my spectrometer and transformed into a darker version of myself named Midnight Sparkle. I almost destroyed the world in my quest to learn more about this energy, only to be saved by a girl named Sunset Shimmer.”_

_“Since then, I have learned that this energy is in fact real magic, originating from a parallel dimension referred to as Equestria. Sunset Shimmer is a native of that dimension and brought her kind’s magic to our world some time ago. Equestrian magic is very powerful and appears to be based on interpersonal connections, such as friendship. When applied to humans, it can induce a cross-species transformation, as mentioned previously. Sunset and her compatriots refer to it as ponying up. Last night, it happened to Emerald and I for the first time, so I have decided to try and analyze some sample DNA we took from our pony forms as well as our regular human DNA in an attempt to discover what, if anything, may be happening to us.”_

With her log entry completed, Twilight put her phone away and got right to work, firing up a DNA analyzer she built when she was eleven. “Emerald, would you mind handing me the evidence bag, please?”

“Sure,” Emerald said, taking a seat beside Twilight as she handed the bag over.

Twilight put on a pair of purple latex gloves. “We’ll need a control… if you go into my bathroom vanity, you’ll find a hairbrush with some of my old hairs still in it. Grab it and bring it back here.”

Emerald looked a little grossed out. “And you have that brush because…”

“It’s the only sample of DNA I have from before I was touched by magic yesterday,” explained Twilight, using a pair of tweezers to pluck a few strands of hair from her head. “Our transformations may already have begun, and this is the only way we can be sure.”

“I have a lot of questions about that sentence, but I’ll ask them _after_ I get back,” Emerald said, before hopping up and running off to Twilight’s bedroom, where she did in fact have a bathroom of her own, though it was technically a half-bath. Grabbing the brush, Emerald returned to the lab.

When she got back, she found Twilight was projecting the display of her computer monitor onto a nearby pull-down screen. On the screen were visualizations of two DNA strands, which became three when Twilight added the hair from the brush. They’d even been labeled: “Human (Pre-Magic),” “Pony,” and “Human (Post-Magic).”

Emerald stared for a long time at the three strands, puzzled. “Uh… Sparks? What exactly am I looking at here? Is this like a spot-the-difference kind of thing?”

“Sort of,” Twilight replied. “Around a decade ago, scientists finished decoding the horse genome, and discovered that humans and horses share quite a few genetic similarities. The same, as near as I can tell, appears to be the case for Equestrian ponies and our horses.”

“What about ponies and us?” Emerald asked.

“I’m getting to that,” said Twilight. “The samples you see here are not comprehensive, it would be impossible for me to list _all_ the differences between us. Even constructing a pony genome would take a long time! But I can say that there are some differences all the same.”

Using a pointer, she pointed to a few pairs on the pre-magic human strand. “These genes control for hair growth,” she explained. “In our case, this manifests in the hair on our heads and what body hair we still possess from earlier stages of our evolution, when we more closely resembled apes.” She pointed to a similar pair on the pony strand. “In ponies, this pair covers a much larger surface area, affecting their manes, tails, and coats. Now…” she pointed to a pair on the post-magic strand, “As you can see, the hair growth gene here has begun to shift from this,” she pointed to the pre-magic strand again, “to match this,” she pointed to the pony strand.

Emerald was silent for several minutes as she took all this in. “So… we’re already starting to change? Permanently?”

Twilight nodded. “It seems that way. But the changes are infinitesimally small at this stage, it could take months, perhaps years, for any especially big shifts. Magic, we now know, is capable of manipulating the body in ways that would otherwise seem like the stuff of fantasy writers. Think of it as a second puberty, if you will.”

Emerald smirked. “Or a third puberty.”

Twilight laughed at that and turned the projector off, before turning to face her girlfriend. “How do you feel about this? Honestly?”

“I’m not sure how to feel,” Emerald admitted. “There’s still a lot I don’t know about magic, and how much it affects people… like, I’m pretty sure it messes around with your mind too. I hope the princess shows up today, because I have a _lot_ of questions.”

“I do too,” admitted Twilight. “If I hadn’t been studying magic for the past six months, I’d be even more scared. And part of me still is. But as long as I view this as a science experiment, I can cope.”

Emerald nodded and smiled. “And if you can cope, I can cope. Wanna go watch some _Voyager_ before Sunset gets here?”

“You bet!” replied Twilight, taking off her lab coat. She locked up the lab and followed Emerald inside, her mind racing.

* * *

That afternoon, Twilight, Emerald, and their five Canterlot High friends all met up at the Wondercolt statue, or at least what was left of it. Gem, true to her word, had brought along a picnic lunch of her own making while Raven had contributed a cooler filled with ice and various cold juices and sodas to keep away the heat, and Sunset offered a blanket to spread down on the ground immediately in front of the portal.

Gem and Raven had arrived first and finished setting things up just as Vinyl and Octavia arrived, followed by Sunset, who was driving Twilight and Emerald over since her apartment was closer to Twilight’s house.

“Pretty great set-up, Gem! You made all this yourself?!” Emerald said, as she and Twilight sat down with the rest of the group. There was a surprising amount of sandwich fixings available, as well as snacks like chips and pretzels, and some homemade desserts, mainly cookies and brownies.

“Well, Raven did help,” Gem admitted. “She contributed the chips, pretzels, and drinks, but otherwise we’ve been up since dawn making sure everything was ready. Please, sit back, relax, enjoy yourselves!”

Everyone did, taking paper plates and assembling for themselves sandwiches with chips, pretzels, or both, and either juice or soda to wash it down with. As they ate, they talked about what Twilight and Emerald could expect from Canterlot High when they joined in the fall, Emerald disclosed her trans status to the immediate acceptance of everyone and Gem and Octavia’s sheer joy, as both of them were trans themselves, (or in Octavia’s case, non-binary, though both of them used feminine pronouns) and much talk was had by the three of them comparing various aspects of their transitions, and what they wanted to do when they grew up.

Around two-thirty, the girls had decided to pack things up and move the party over to Vinyl’s house when, all of a sudden, the portal started to ripple. Then, just as suddenly, [Princess Twilight](https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/mlp/images/7/77/Twilight%27s_Grand_Entrance_EG3.png/revision/latest?cb=20151016020718) came through the portal, her hands bent at the wrists like they were a pony’s front legs, talking a mile a minute: “I'm so sorry I didn't get here sooner! I didn't get your messages until just now because I was caught in this time travel loop and, honestly, it was the strangest thing that's ever happened to me!”

She paused, taking in the scene. There was Sunset, Gem, Vinyl, Octavia, and Raven, but there were also two other girls, both of whom she recognized immediately, because one of them was her.

There was a silence as the two Twilights looked at each other from either side of the blanket, sizing each other up. Finally though, the human one spoke first, offering her hand and smiling. “Good afternoon! My name-”

“is Twilight Sparkle!” finished the Princess, shaking her hand a little awkwardly. “It’s nice to meet you! I mean, me!” She looked over at Emerald, “And you must be the human Emerald! It’s very nice to meet you too!”

“Yeah, same,” Emerald said, her cheeks red. “Hey Sparks, I mean… uh, _my_ Sparks, knowing what we know about someone’s counterpart not technically being the same person as the original, is it cheating on you if I kiss her?”

Sci-Twi blinked, puzzled. “I’m… not sure. Why would you want to do that?”

Emerald smirked. “I mean, she’s _you_. Sure, we’re younger than she is and technically a different species and all that other stuff, but I’m willing to bet she’s as much of a total dork as you.”

Sci-Twi thought this over. “Well, I suppose it’s okay… but only if she’s okay with it too.”

“I am,” Princess Twilight said at once. “In fact, my Emerald told me to not be afraid to kiss her counterpart if the opportunity arose, because she’d kiss you if she were here.”

“Then in that case,” said Emerald with a grin, “Get over here, Princess Sparks.” And without further ado, she kissed both Twilights in turn, as deeply as she could manage.

When it was over, all three girls came up for air and Emerald said, “ _Wow_ … that was an experience I never thought I’d have… and so totally amazing.” A pause. “Actually, why isn’t pony me here?”

“She’s helping my new student get used to the castle,” Princess Twilight explained. “Her name is Starlight Glimmer, and she’s the same mare who almost succeeded in wiping Equestria from all causality as revenge for my friends and I putting an end to her cutie mark stealing scheme.”

Sunset, who’d been watching this entire conversation with a highly amused smirk on her face, simply nodded. “Making friends with the same pony who just tried to kill you? Yeah, definitely a Twilight thing.” She smiled and gave the princess a hug. “Really, I’m glad to see you. We have a _lot_ to talk about.”

“I can only imagine!” Princess Twilight said, beaming. “I’m glad to see you too, Sunset. Where can we go that’s safe to talk? I don’t want to cause a disturbance among the humans if they see two Twilight Sparkles around.”

“We were just gonna head over to my place,” Vinyl said. “That should work fine.”

“Let’s go then!” Princess Twilight cheered, and the group broke up, heading for their respective vehicles.

* * *

Soon, the eight girls were all seated in Vinyl’s living room, split into four pairs: Vinyl and Octavia, Gem and Raven, Emerald and SciTwi, then finally Sunset and Princess Twilight.

“I now declare this meeting of the Magic Society open!” Vinyl announced in a grand voice. When no one reacted, she said: “That’s us, by the way.”

“Oh!” Gem giggled, “I like that, Magic Society… it fits!”

“I agree,” Sunset said. “Princess Twilight, what do you want to know first?”

“Let’s start with these Friendship Games you mentioned on the ride over,” Princess Twilight said. “What happened there? I heard all kinds of awful reports from the mayor of Ponyville yesterday about rifts.”

Her human counterpart looked away, embarrassed. “That was me,” she said. “I’ve been studying magic for months in private, and during the Friendship Games, I put my desire for knowledge over the safety of others.”

“In fairness,” Sunset interrupted, “You kept apologizing even when I confronted you, and when you turned into Midnight Sparkle, you were provoked first.”

Emerald nodded. “Our ex-classmates and stone-cold bitch of a principal sang this awful song about unleashing the magic to ensure a Crystal Prep victory. If it wasn’t for them, Midnight Sparkle wouldn’t have ever happened.”

“I see,” said the princess, her voice soft with concern for her counterpart. “Twilight… did you ever have any friends before meeting these girls?”

Sci-Twi shook her head, “No. Until I met Emerald, everyone I ever met at school just bullied me, usually because they were intimidated by my intelligence. My parents sent me to Crystal Prep hoping that would be different, but it just got worse… Emerald’s done her best to protect me, but…”

“But I can’t always be there,” Emerald finished.

Princess Twilight nodded. “Kind of reminds me of my own fillyhood… I didn’t see the point of making friends when I had Shining and every book in the Canterlot Public Library to read, and later, Princess Celestia.”

“Then what happened?” Sci-Twi asked.

Princess Twilight smiled. “I sent my teacher a letter about an upcoming apocalypse and she sent me to Ponyville to oversee preparations for a party. Then Nightmare Moon came, and the friends I had made that day helped me to defeat her. I still wasn’t the best friend early on, but I learned how to become a better one through experience.” She gave her counterpart a hug. “Believe me when I say you aren’t a bad person, Twilight.”

“Even though I almost caused an apocalypse?” Sci-Twi asked.

The princess nodded. “Even then. The rifts have been sealed, and the portal is still in good condition, isn’t it?”

Sunset nodded, “Yeah. I did see a small crack though, at the top where the horse used to be…”

“Oh.” Princess Twilight paled. “Oh dear…”

* * *

A short time later, Sunset and the Princess were back at the portal, inspecting it. Sunset had borrowed a stepladder from Vinyl and used it to climb to the top of the plinth, where sure enough there was a hairline crack in the stone, which leaked out magic every once and a while.

Princess Twilight had a reconstructed version of Sci-Twi’s original spectrometer, before the collection component had been added. “The good news,” she reported, “is that it’s not leaking too much. The bad news is that any further magic use in the vicinity other than portal travel could cause further destabilization, almost ensuring a thaumaturgical feedback loop.”

Sunset groaned and laid her head against the stone. “Well, that’s just great. Lemme guess, we can’t even pony up without risking a potential catastrophic overload?”

Twilight nodded. “Unfortunately. And this can’t be fixed either, the magic blast that was thrown at it damaged most of the original spellwork for the safeguards.”

“And we can’t fix it on the Equestrian end because…” Sunset wondered.

“The damage only affects this plane,” Twilight replied. “And this world doesn’t have enough magic anyway.”

“So, let me get this straight,” said Sunset, counting on her fingers. “We can’t use magic at school because if we do that could break the portal even further, we can’t fix the spellwork because there’s not enough magic here to allow for it, and more magic is what we’re trying to avoid in the first place anyway. Right?”

Twilight nodded, “Correct.”

“What’s stopping us from intentionally causing an overload?” Sunset asked.

“That would cause a transformation so rapid and complete that the entirety of the human society would be upended essentially in the blink of an eye,” Twilight explained. “It could cause chaos on an unimaginable level.”

Sunset sighed. “Seems to me like the universe is just closing off every potential avenue of fixing this for a sick joke…” She climbed down again, rejoining Twilight at the base. “The only way forward is a slow and gradual species change, isn’t it?”

Twilight nodded. “I’m afraid so. Only once the humans have entirely shifted and this world’s thaumic levels are equal to that of Equestria can the portal be repaired safely.”

“Because by then the threat would’ve passed,” Sunset finished. “Buck… I really _hate_ being a magical prodigy sometimes, you know?”

Twilight nodded. “It’s not easy… but if there’s anypony I trust to weather the humans through the coming changes to their world, it’s you, Sunset.”

“Really?” Sunset’s eyes widened. “You mean that?”

Twilight smiled, giving Sunset a hug. “Of course I do. You’ve changed dramatically since we first met, so much so that I am prepared to release you as my student.”

“Wow…” Sunset looked utterly awestruck. “I don’t know what to say…”

“You don’t have to say anything,” Twilight said. “Your actions are proof enough. This world is in very good hooves.”

“Thank you, Twilight,” Sunset whispered, wiping a tear from her eye. “For everything.” Then she said, “So… how long are you going to be in town?”

Twilight thought for a few moments. “Well, I wasn’t intending to stay for very long, but it’s been a while since I just visited without having to solve a magical crisis…” She grinned. “So I guess I can stay for a day or so. Maybe two.”

“YES!” Sunset cheered, bouncing around excitedly. “Wanna see if our Twilight will show you her lab?”

“Do I ever!” Twilight exclaimed. “I bet she has all kinds of interesting things to share!”

Sunset nodded, “She absolutely does. Let’s go!” And so she led the way back to the student parking lot, a new spring in her step.


	4. The Pony Paradox

One month had passed since the Friendship Games. Twilight and Emerald still attended Crystal Prep and would do so until the end of the current academic year, due to district rules preventing them from switching schools after the fall semester. So instead, they visited their Wondercolt friends either during weekends or online via social media. On this particular Saturday, they planned on spending the day at the mall.

When her alarm clock went off, Twilight got out of bed and pulled out her phone, unlocking it with her fingerprint, then opened an app she used to keep track of her reminders and other checklists. Her morning routine went a little like this: after waking up, she’d get dressed, brush her teeth, make her bed, then go downstairs to have breakfast. After that, she’d take Spike out for his morning walk/bathroom time.

But the first clue Twilight had that something was strange came as she was pulling off her pajama pants. Nothing snagged, but she did feel _something_ slip through a hole in the back that she couldn’t quite place.

Puzzled, Twilight twisted around as best she could and was astounded to find a dark blue tail streaked with purple and pink resting on the bed, cut in exactly the same way as her mane. Rather, her _hair_.

“A tail?” Twilight whispered, reaching out to touch it. “Why do I have a tail? And why did I just think of my hair as my mane?” She found her tail was just as silky soft as her mane was (there it was _again_!) which at least suggested it truly belonged to her.

“Well, of course it does,” Twilight muttered to herself. “It’s _my_ tail. Why wouldn’t I have one?” But then she realized, “Because I didn’t have one yesterday… didn’t I?”

Now looking thoroughly confused, Twilight got up and went to look at herself in the mirror. There was her mane, which honestly might need cutting, there was her tail, swishing gently with each step she took, and there were her ears, moving this way and that, poking through either side of her mane…

“Wait… what in the world is happening to me?!” Twilight cried, her ears pinning back as she got more and more distressed. “I’m not a pony, I’m a human! I may be changing, yes, but that doesn’t mean I’ve always been like this!”

Then from downstairs came her father’s voice: “Twilight, are you up yet? Your oatmeal is almost ready!”

“COMING, DAD!” Twilight called back, remembering she was supposed to be getting dressed, not having an existential crisis. She put on a fresh bra and panties, then grabbed the first t-shirt she saw: a Daring Do shirt, signed by A.K. Yearling herself. Then she put on a pair of matching khaki capris (which had a hole in the back for her tail, of course) then ran downstairs to join her parents, closing her door as she went.

Or at least, that was what she meant to do. What ended up happening was that she accidentally caught her tail in the door as it closed, preventing her from moving and causing a sharp pain to boot.

“Ow!” Twilight cried, opening her door a few inches, freeing her tail. Once she was sure it wouldn’t get caught, she closed her door one more time and _then_ went downstairs, her stomach roaring at the thought of her mom’s oatmeal.

But once she got down there, she saw something that made her pause: her parents had ears and tails too; ears that were very pale grey and light blue, and tails that matched their manes: purple and white and darker blue, respectively.

“Something wrong, Twily?” asked her mother, looking at her daughter with a perplexed expression on her face.

Without thinking of what she was saying, Twilight went for the first thing that came to mind: “Why do you guys have tails?” she asked, in a small voice.

Her father chuckled. “Twily, we’re _ponies_. Of course we have tails! I don’t know why you’re noticing ours all of a sudden, it’s not like they got here yesterday!”

Twilight laughed awkwardly and went to sit down, smiling a little too widely. “Ahaha, yeah! Of course! Silly me!”

Velvet smiled and gave Twilight an affectionate nuzzle on the cheek. “Oh, my little filly… curious as always. That curiosity will take you far in life, sweetie.”

Twilight blushed. “I try my best,” she said at last, as Velvet placed a bowl of oatmeal in front of her. She dug in, eating second _and_ third helpings. For some reason, oats just tasted better than usual today… if only she could figure out why.

* * *

An hour later, Twilight was sitting next to Emerald in the back seat of Sunset’s car as the older Wondercolt drove them across town to the mall, explaining the situation to both of them. “I just don’t understand it!” she exclaimed. “How can I have two completely different yet equally valid sets of memories?”

“What freaks me out is how your mom called you her little filly,” Emerald said. “What’s that even mean?”

“It’s the Equestrian word for girl,” Sunset explained. “Spoken English and Ponish are actually pretty similar to each other aside from little differences like that. There’s also pronouns like everypony, nopony, somepony, or anypony.”

“But why are they saying them at all?” Twilight asked. “We weren’t born ponies, Sunset! Not like you were!”

“No, you weren’t,” Sunset agreed. “But I think I might have a couple theories. Let’s meet up with the girls first and see what they think.” Pulling into a parking space, she got out, and after locking up headed inside the [mall](https://bit.ly/3hKWqqH) with the two soon-to-be former Shadowbolts.

Canterlot Mall was the biggest single retail unit in town, consisting of two floors filled with dozens of stores, restaurants, kiosks, and even a movie theater, which showed all the latest releases. It was also a regular hangout spot for the city’s teenage population, regardless of which school they belonged to.

It was also, as Sunset, Twilight, and Emerald discovered the moment they walked through the doors on the first floor, completely filled with humans who now possessed equine ears and tails in every possible color combination. And as their own ears moved about of their own accord to catch snippets of conversation, they heard snatches of Equestrian words: not just filly, but also mare, colt, stallion, pony, everypony, anypony, nopony, and somepony.

When the trio reached the previously arranged meeting point, (a small playground for the fillies and colts to play on while their parents shopped) the mood was frosty. Gem, Octavia, and Vinyl were all looking concerned, their tails drooping, and their ears lowered in addition to the slight frowns on their faces. Raven just looked angry.

“Alright, Shimmer, spill the beans,” Raven said gruffly, her Manehattan accent even stronger than usual. She flicked her own tail in annoyance. “What’s going on here? Why’s my head feel too big, and why’s everypony… _everybody_ talking weird?!”

“Alright,” Sunset began. “You know that we’ve been changing into ponies for the last couple of weeks. And you know that before she left, Princess Twilight told us to try and avoid ponying up if it was possible.”

“But that’s gotten harder and harder to do!” Octavia protested. “We’ve all done it at least several times a week now!”

Sunset nodded, “And usually at school, since it’s right next to the portal. When we change, every bit of magical energy we use in ponying up causes the portal to increase the amount of magic it’s pushing into our world to compensate for what was used up when we change. Do that enough times and it speeds up our transformations.” She gestured to her ears. “We weren’t supposed to get these for at least a month, and a tail after two. But because we’ve all been ponying up, that’s why these are here now.”

“What about our memories?” Gem asked. “When I woke up this morning, one of the first things I did was brush my mane and tail as though I’ve had them forever, but I can clearly recall _not_ having them yesterday!”

Sunset nodded, “I can explain that too, I think. Let’s say, for example, you’re that stallion over there playing the accordion.” Everyone looked over to see a man with orange-yellow skin and a brown mane and tail that looked a lot like Emerald’s own playing the accordion, a rubber chicken perched beside him. “You wake up today and you discover you have a tail that definitely wasn’t there yesterday. What do you do?”

“I’d flip out,” said Vinyl at once. “Maybe think I’d tried some weird drug or something, and when it didn’t go away, I’d panic.”

Sunset nodded, “And now imagine every single person in this city panicking at once because their ears look strange and they have tails. Mass chaos and anarchy, right?” As everyone nodded, she added, “That’s why our memories, and the ones of our families, are changing. To keep all of us from panicking.”

“But how come we can remember humans?” Emerald asked. “I asked Dash if she knew what they were on MyStable this morning, and she just thought I was crazy!”

“That, I don’t know,” Sunset admitted. “It might be that friendship magic is what’s keeping us safe, since we’re the only ones who have used it. But that’s just a theory.”

“Then what do we do?” asked Raven. “Just act like everything’s normal?”

Sunset nodded. “Afraid so… because like it or not girls, this _is_ our new normal. So let’s just do what we planned on doing today and let all this,” she gestured vaguely at the world around them, “slide for a bit.”

“In that case,” Emerald said, “I’m going up to grab a burger and fries, because I could really go for some lunch right now. Who’s with me?”

“I am,” said Vinyl immediately, springing up and giving her tail a few happy swishes.

“Wanna come with, Sparks?” Emerald asked.

Twilight shook her head, “I’ll be at the bookstore if you need me!”

“Got it,” said Emerald, as the rest of the group split up and went on their own errands. She and Vinyl ascended the escalator and, after consulting a map, headed for the food court.

When they got there, they found there were lines at all the various vegetarian and vegan places, but no lines at all at the burger joints. Vinyl took off her shades in amazement, looking at the huge gap. “Uh. What the buck?”

“Exactly what I was thinking,” said Emerald, staring in surprise. “How does BK not have any lines?”

“Guess we’re about to find out,” Vinyl said, walking right up to the counter.

“Can I help you?” asked a girl with mint-green skin and a white and green striped mane and tail, both of which were wrapped in hairnets. Then she paused, and grinned. “Scratch! Wave! Good to see you, music mares! What’s up?”

“Not much, Heartstrings,” Vinyl replied, sliding her shades back on. How they stayed attached with her ears so high up, she had no idea. “Gimme a Whopper, fries, and a Coke.”

Lyra tilted her head. “Like a regular Whopper? Scratch… uh… that’s meat.”

Vinyl nodded, “Yup, sure is. What about it?”

“I mean, we’re ponies, Scratch,” said Lyra. “We don’t usually eat meat, except for pegasi, and even for them it’s just fish.”

Vinyl sighed. “Just… gimme a sandwich, okay Heartstrings?”

“If you say so, Scratch,” Lyra said, punching in Vinyl’s order. “How about you, Wave?”

“Improbable Whopper, fries, and a Dr. Pepper,” Emerald replied, paying with her phone. Vinyl did likewise.

Lyra nodded and smiled, “I’ll call ya when they’re ready. See you fillies later!” Waving, she turned and went to hand the orders to the cooks.

Grabbing a table, Emerald sank into a chair, her head in her hands. “Buck me… this transformation stuff is giving me a hay of a migraine…”

“Me too,” Vinyl admitted. “It feels so weird hearing Lyra talk like she’s a pony.”

“Do you think we’ll ever get used to this?” Emerald asked.

Vinyl shrugged. “Beats me. I don’t know nearly as much about magic as Sunset does.”

Emerald nodded and sighed heavily. “Honestly… I hope we do end up like everyone… oh buck it, _everypony_ else. And who knows, in a year from now, that may even be true.”

Vinyl smirked. “Filly, I’m thinking we might be fully shifted by Hearth’s Warming.” She then frowned. “Oh buck, now I’m doing it.”

“It’s easier, isn’t it?” Emerald observed. “The more I do it, the easier it gets.”

Vinyl nodded, “Yeah… still weird though.”

“No doubt about that,” finished Emerald. “Oh hey, Lyra’s coming!”

Sure enough, the green-skinned Wondercolt was approaching with a tray carrying three burgers, two containers of fries, and two sodas. “Enjoy!” she chirped, putting the tray down on the table.

Vinyl blinked, “Uh… I only ordered the one burger, Heartstrings. Why’d I get two?”

Lyra smiled, “One of them’s an Improbable. On the house. Trust me, you’re gonna need it.”

“If you say so,” Vinyl said, shrugging. She unwrapped the meat-based burger, took a deep sniff, and winced. “Uh... this is fresh, isn’t it?”

Lyra nodded, “Always.”

“Okay then...” Vinyl looked increasingly less sure than she had just a few minutes prior. She took a big bite of the burger, chewed, swallowed... and immediately regretted it. “Oh bucking Tartarus!” she swore, “This is awful!”

“I _told_ you!” Lyra shook her head, “Honestly. What’d you do, lose a bet with Tavi?” She shook her head, tossing the meat burger into the trash.

Vinyl didn’t answer, she was too busy gulping down her soda to wash the taint of meat out of her mouth. Eventually she seemed to manage it, so she got up, re-filled, and took an experimental bite of the plant burger. She grinned. “Oh yeah, that’s the stuff.”

Lyra smiled, “I knew you’d like it. We’ll get the meat burgers off the menu eventually, probably sooner rather than later.” She turned back toward the counter, “Anyway, gotta get back to it. See you Monday!”

“See ya, Heartstrings!” Vinyl called back, wolfing down her burger with much enthusiasm.

* * *

While Emerald and Vinyl went for lunch, Gem went to another part of the mall, one that catered to women’s clothing. Or now, she supposed, mare’s clothing. She was going there to be fitted for a new bra, as her current ones had become quite small since increasing her estrogen and spironolactone dosages.

As she entered one store, she jumped when she heard a voice almost as posh sounding as her own sing out, “Ah, Gemini! How nice to see you again!” The voice belonged to Rarity, a girl Gem had only met once in person, but they had been conversing endlessly since the Games. “How are you, darling?”

“Splendidly, Rarity,” Gem said, smiling at the white and purple girl. “Is it me, or does your tail have a little extra curl to it today?”

“It’s not just you!” Rarity cooed. “I’m trying a new conditioner, and so far, I’ve been very pleased with the results! How may I be of assistance?”

“I’m going bra shopping, as it happens,” Gem replied. “Though knowing you, I won’t be at all surprised if I walk out of here with a new outfit too.”

Rarity laughed. “Gemini, darling, where I’m concerned it is to be expected. I am a mare of fashion, and I delight in assisting everypony in finding her, or his, true self.” She led Gem away toward a sign that read “MARES” in a language she shouldn’t have recognized but found she did. She knew it to be Equestrian, the language of her species.

 _“Could I have been speaking something else this whole time?"_ wondered the remnants of Gem’s humanity. But she shook her head, deciding against it. _“Nonsense, silly filly. You are a pony, what else would you speak?”_ Then she felt a tap on her shoulder, and she jumped back, letting out a surprised whinny before she could stop herself.

“I do apologize, darling,” Rarity said, her blue eyes wide with concern, “But you looked troubled! Is everything alright?”

Gem nodded quickly, adjusting the strap of her purse. “Yes! Yes, everything is quite alright, Rarity. Just lost in thought, I suppose.”

Rarity nodded, “Oh, I quite understand! Come along, let’s see…” She led Gem into a fitting room and grabbed a tape measure, starting to measure Gem’s band and cup sizes. “Heavens! Really, you should have come in long before now, you poor dear.” She pouted. “I hate to think what your breasts are going through.”

“Why?” Gem asked. “When last I saw, I was a 32 A.”

“Not anymore,” Rarity explained, showing her a piece of paper where she’d written Gem’s measurements, “You’re a 33 B now. Did you switch to injections like you said you would?”

Gem nodded, “I just didn’t think they’d affect me this much, this soon!”

“Lucky I’m here then,” Rarity said, smiling. “I’ll come back with some samples! Please, make yourself comfortable, darling!” She all but spun out of the room, and Gem sat down in a chair to wait.

Rarity wasn’t gone for long. She returned after a few minutes with several different bras from a variety of manufacturers. “Tadaaaaa! Go in and try these on, and we’ll see how they fit!”

Gem nodded and took the bras, retreating into one of the stalls so she could change. One was navy blue, another was black, a third was white, and a fourth exactly matched her own complexion: very light grey. She tried the white one first and came out to seek Rarity’s approval. “Thoughts? It seems a bit tight to me…”

“Probably because it is,” said Rarity, “Hmm… try the grey one next.”

It went on like this for several more minutes as Rarity and Gem tried on bras of various colors from various companies, and even various makes, but what they eventually decided on was the sports bra, to accommodate Gem’s growing breasts.

“There you are!” Rarity smiled as she rang up Gem’s purchases, which also now included several new dresses, tops, and skirts as well as the bras. “Do come again, darling, won’t you?”

“I certainly will,” Gem replied, smiling back. “Goodbye Rarity! Thank you!” Carrying her bags in both hands, Gem headed for the store exit.

* * *

The day continued to be a productive one for the seven young mares. Emerald and Vinyl met up with Octavia at the music store to buy some new CDs, while Gem joined Sunset and Twilight at the bookstore. Raven spent a large part of her afternoon at the magic store, testing out new products for her developing stage act as a magician.At 5 PM, they met up again at the entrance and headed for their respective vehicles, chatting about what they found, before making their way to their homes.

As they relaxed in Twilight’s room together, Emerald stared thoughtfully up at the ceiling. “Pretty weird day, huh?"

Twilight nodded, "Absolutely... I think I can get used to the fact that everypony's changing, but not that they all just seem to take it as normal."

"I see where you're coming from." Emerald sighed. "At least when we go to Camp Everfree in a couple weeks, we can put all this magic stuff behind us. Sorta."

Twilight nodded, "It _will_ be hard to completely relax given these," she gestured to her ears, "but I'm sure we'll make it through... right?"

"Right." Emerald smiled. "We're Canterlot Wondercolts now, Sparks. And Wondercolts can get through anything." She yawned, and wrapped her arms around Twilight again, as both of them drifted off to sleep.


	5. The Midnight in Me: Part 1

It was the first week of summer vacation, which for the students of Canterlot High meant a field trip to Camp Everfree, one of the most well-known and beloved state parks in the Canterlot metropolitan area. For Twilight Sparkle and Emerald Wave, it was also their first school activity as Canterlot Wondercolts, and it was hard to tell which of them was more excited.

Of course, Twilight was going to miss it all if she overslept, as she was doing now. She’d been up late the night before tracking the state of her continuing transformation into an Equestrian pony, but so far, it seemed as if her changes hadn’t progressed very much since she’d woken up with ears and a tail. After a long night of checking, double checking, and triple checking the results of her DNA scanner _and_ running a system diagnostic to ensure it was calibrated correctly, Twilight had collapsed into bed just after midnight, well beyond her normal bedtime.

As she slept, she dreamed. But her dreams were unsettled and scary, even If Emerald’s wolf plush was there to at least comfort her when she woke, so she tossed and turned in her sleep, looking troubled. “No... It can't be...! It isn't true...!”

Then, Emerald’s voice sounded from outside her room: “SPARKS! THE BUS FOR CAMP EVERFREE LEAVES IN TEN MINUTES!”

Twilight sat up in bed as if hit with an electric shock, gasping when she saw the time on her alarm clock, which had failed to go off. “Oh, no-no-no-no-no! I can't believe I overslept!” she cried, shoving her glasses onto her face and flinging off the covers of her bed.

The door opened and in came six other young mares: her fillyfriend Emerald, and their five best friends Sunset Shimmer, Gemini Shadow, Raven Sable, Vinyl Scratch, and Octavia Melody. All five were looking concerned, but Emerald in particular.

“Me either,” Sunset commented, having heard Twilight’s shout through the wall. “That’s not like you.”

“Sparks, were you up late doing science in the lab again?” Emerald asked, attempting to look stern. She even crossed her arms and flicked her tail a bit.

“Um… maybe?” Twilight squeaked, looking embarrassed.

Emerald just laughed and nuzzled her, “Yeah, I kinda figured. Don’t sweat it, we’ll help you pack.”

As Emerald spoke, Gem produced a suitcase from Twilight’s closet and place it on the bed. “I assume you have a list of what you’ll need, Twilight?”

Twilight nodded, “I sure do!” She grabbed her phone and navigated to her packing checklist. “Let’s see: sunscreen, changes of clothes for the six nights we’ll be there, insect repellent, flashlights, batteries for the flashlights, my phone, laptop, tablet, and their associated chargers!”

“That sounds pretty comprehensive,” observed Octavia. “Thank goodness the camp staff are providing the food and lodgings, or else you’d need to pack a lot more!” The six mares began walking around the room, collecting the various items and placing them into the suitcase.

“I just wonder what all the electronics are for,” Vinyl asked. “This is a school thing, isn’t it? Are those even allowed?”

“I checked with Vice Principal Luna when she gave Emerald and I our permission slips,” Twilight explained, starting to get dressed. “She said electronics are allowed, but she cautioned me not to spend too much time on them.”

“Besides, it’s the 21st century,” Emerald added. “I’m willing to bet they even have free Wi-Fi. Everyone else does!” She tossed the sunscreen into the case and closed it. “There, all set!”

“Great! You’re the best, girls!” Twilight beamed as she went to her closet. “Let me just get changed!” Grabbing one of her official Camp Everfree t-shirts, she went to her mirror to check the fit, then gasped in surprise and alarm. A figure with dark purple skin, black feathered wings, and glowing eyes and a horn had appeared in the glass, grinning malevolently.

“Hello, Twilight,” said Midnight Sparkle, bearing all of her teeth at Twilight as she flew _out_ of the mirror and into the bedroom. “Did you miss me?!”

“MIDNIGHT SPARKLE!” chorused the rest of the girls, looking horrified.

“How is this possible?!” Twilight cried, “Sunset Shimmer helped me defeat you at the Friendship Games!”

Midnight merely cackled at that. “You and your friends can never truly defeat me!” she crowed, using her magic to make the room and all of Twilight’s friends disappear, leaving them alone in a strange cloudy [void](https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/mlp/images/a/ad/Twilight_haunted_by_Midnight_Sparkle_EG4.png/revision/latest?cb=20181216153123).

“GO AWAY!” Twilight screamed at her evil counterpart, looking frightened beyond measure. “I DEFEATED YOU!”

“Don’t you get it, Twilight?” Midnight replied, “I am a part of you! I'll always be there, waiting in the darkest shadows of your mind!” Putting her hands on Twilight’s shoulders, she began to fuse with Twilight, making the smaller girl scream in terror and pain as Midnight’s dark magic took control of her. “I’ll be back, Twilight! And _this_ time, I won't stop until I have _all_ the magic!”

“NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!” Twilight yelled, jerking awake and sitting upright in bed.

Spike, who’d been asleep at the foot of Twilight’s bed, yipped and padded over to lick Twilight’s nose, looking about as concerned as a purple dog with no ability to speak could look.

“Just another nightmare, Spike,” Twilight said, sighing. “That’s all…” She yawned and checked her alarm clock: 5:50 AM.

Groaning, Twilight flopped back down onto her pillows, staring up at the ceiling. “May as well get up… I can’t get a lot of sleeping done in ten minutes.” So with that thought in mind, Twilight got up, showered, ran a brush through her mane and tail, then changed her clothes and double-checked to make sure she was really packed for a week at camp. (She was.) Satisfied, she said goodbye to Spike and went to wait for the bus to Camp Everfree, watching the sun rise as she did.

All too soon, the bright yellow school bus that would take her to Camp Everfree rolled up to the driveway of Sparkle Manor, and she climbed aboard, pleased to see that her friends were already waiting for her, along with the rest of the students in their class. Driving the bus was a kindly older man with grey skin and a brown mane and tail, who tipped his Stetson to her as she boarded. His name was Longhaul.

“Good morning, Twilight!” Celestia said, smiling at the young scientist. “I do hope you’re ready for your inaugural adventure as a Wondercolt!”

“I think I am, Principal Celestia!” Twilight said, walking down the aisle to sit beside Emerald, “Thank you for letting us come!”

“You’re quite welcome, Miss Sparkle,” said Luna, smiling warmly. “Longhaul, let us be off!”

Longhaul nodded and began guiding the bus back through the streets of Canterlot, heading on the main highway toward the outskirts.

As they all went along, Emerald looked worriedly at her fillyfriend even as they held hands. “You okay, Sparks?” she asked. “You look like Tartarus.”

Twilight yawned widely but nodded, “I’m okay, Emmy… just up night doing science experiments…”

“That’s what you say every time I ask you,” Emerald said. “I know you’re a science nerd Sparks, but sometimes I get the feeling you aren’t telling me everything.”

“I am!” Twilight insisted, her tail flicking sharply in annoyance. “Emerald, honestly! You know how bad of a liar I am!”

Emerald nodded, “True, but _you_ know that even exclusionary detailing is still lying.”

Twilight crossed her arms, “Is that it?! I’m a liar now, am I?”

“No!” Emerald exclaimed. “I’m just worried about you, Twilight!”

“Oh.” Twilight rubbed her eyes and smiled apologetically. “Sorry, Emmy… I guess I get cranky when I don’t sleep.”

Emerald smiled despite herself, “Yeah, you do. Want to borrow my headphones? I can put on some soothing music for you if It would help you sleep.”

“Good idea,” Twilight agreed, as Emerald reached into her backpack to take out her noise-cancelling studio-quality headphones. She then plugged them into her [MP3 player](https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/417W-DPg0aL._AC_SS350_.jpg) and cued up her normal bedtime playlist, and within a few minutes, Twilight was asleep.

Vinyl peeked over the edge of her seat, watching in awe. “How do you _do_ that? I thought I was the DJ in this group!”

Emerald grinned. “You’re the DJ for everypony, Vinyl. Call this a fillyfriend’s privilege.”

“Fair enough,” Vinyl conceded, sitting back down again when she felt Luna glaring at her.

* * *

The school bus trundled along the highway, turning off at an exit that led down a gorgeous country road filled with spectacular [scenery](https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/mlp/images/8/81/Opening_credits_-_Distance_shot_of_forest_and_clouds_EG4.png/revision/latest?cb=20161027223322). Pine trees were everywhere, as were the distant peaks of mountains capped with snow. Forest creatures played and frolicked, watching the bus go by with curious eyes. Through it all, Emerald kept herself busy by watching the scenery go by and chatting with her friends. Every now and then she watched Twilight sleep, and was happy to see that for once, the young scientist’s face was unclouded.

The farther the bus took them from Canterlot, the less they could feel the city’s magic affect them until eventually, they couldn’t feel it at all. The changes reversed themselves gradually, ears changing shape and position to what was typical for humans, tails simply vanishing entirely, and minds being shifted as everyone’s latent humanity reasserted itself. By the time the bus passed through the Camp Everfree entrance, it was as if the last month or so had never happened. Only Twilight, Emerald, and their friends knew otherwise.

“Sparks honey, put your shoes on, we’re at Grandma’s,” Emerald joked, gently nudging her girlfriend’s shoulder with her hand.

Twilight sat up and stretched, “Oh wow, that felt _amazing_ … Thanks, Emmy.” Twilight handed the headphones back, smiling.

Emerald kissed her on the cheek. “What are girlfriends for?” she asked, getting up with everyone else as they disembarked.

“Girlfriend?” Twilight echoed, puzzled. “Don’t you mean fillyfriend? And where’d my tail go?”

“We changed back into humans while you slept,” Sunset explained, her voice low. “The magic hasn’t gotten out of Canterlot yet, but it’s coming.”

“You can feel that?” Vinyl asked.

Sunset nodded. “Kinda like a sixth sense, I guess… when the Dazzlings were here, I could see their dark magic at work whenever they sang. Looked kinda like green fog.”

“Huh,” Emerald commented. “Cool.” She hopped off the bus, joining the rest of the group outside.

[Camp Everfree](https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/mlp/images/7/79/Opening_sequence_final_shot_of_Camp_Everfree_EG4.png/revision/latest?cb=20161027223450) was a beautiful little camp, with tents set up for visitors to sleep in, a gazebo, several picnic tables, a lake with a dock, and various cabins for specific activities, except for three: one was the mess hall where all the meals were served, a second had a sign reading “ADMINISTRATION” on it, and the third was a private one near the fire pit, where the owners lived.

“Goodness, this place looks beautiful!” Gem exclaimed, snapping a panorama image of the grounds with her phone. “This is going to be a wonderful way to start summer!”

“I'm just after some R&R,” Octavia said, stretching her arms. “The past year has all been a bit too much for my tastes, what with the sirens and the Fall Formal and the Friendship Games.” She glanced guiltily at Twilight and Sunset. “Oh… ah, no offense, girls.”

Sunset gave her a thumbs-up. “None taken, Octavia. We know you didn’t mean it.”

“How far out are we, anyway?” Raven asked the group at large.

“About two hours due north of Canterlot,” Luna said, opening one of the baggage compartments on the bottom of the bus. She and Celestia began to distribute luggage to everyone, all of which had nametags attached to them.

Once the last of the luggage was handed out, a chipper-sounding female voice chose that moment to issue out of the speakers: “Hey, everyone! If you could start heading to the courtyard, that would be rad! It's time to start the best two weeks of camp _ever_!”

The two dozen or so campers did exactly that, walking together toward the gazebo [area](https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/mlp/images/7/79/Campers_watching_Gloriosa_and_Timber_EG4.png/revision/latest?cb=20190103073323). The admin cabin was located right next to it. Inside the gazebo were two people, both young adults. The shorter of the two had pink-red skin, dark red hair, and bright green eyes. She was wearing a yellow t-shirt with blue shorts, brown sandals with daisies tucked into the straps, and a crown of daisies in her hair. Beside her was a boy a little taller than her, he had soft red skin with green hair and eyes and wore a red t-shirt with green cargo shorts and brown hiking boots.

The woman beamed and waved around at everyone as they gathered near the gazebo. “Hi, everyone!” she said in a chipper voice. “Welcome to Camp Everfree! I'm Gloriosa Daisy, your camp director! Think of me as your friendly camp and nature guide. And this is my brother, Timber Spruce!”

Gloriosa handed the cordless mic to her brother, who added “Think of me as that awesome guy... who should always be invited to fun things.” (Emerald’s eyes narrowed at him suspiciously.)

“We aim to please, so before we hand out our tent assignments, we'd like to hear from all of you,” added Gloriosa. “You're free to do whatever you like here!”

“Uh, except hike near the rock quarry. That's off-limits,” said Timber.

“Otherwise, your options are wide open!” finished Gloriosa. “So what activities will make this the very best two weeks of your lives ever?”

There was a brief babble of talk as various students suggested potential activities, from rock climbing, archery, and tetherball to arts and crafts, morning nature walks, and more. But Sunset couldn’t help but notice Timber look increasingly annoyed as the suggestions came up.

“What about the camp gift?” asked Celestia, as she sat next to Luna on top of a picnic table. “That was _my_ favorite Camp Everfree tradition.”

Gloriosa snapped her fingers. “The camp gift! Of course! Good suggestion!”

“Really?” Timber whispered, looking decidedly unamused.

“Yes, really!” Glorioa whispered back.

“I thought-” Timber began.

“You thought wrong,” Gloriosa interrupted.

“Anyone else picking up on a little tension between Gloriosa and her brother?” Sunset quietly asked Gem and Twilight, who were standing next to her.

“Oh, a bit,” Gem said dryly.

“Every year, campers work together to create something useful,” Gloriosa continued, as if her brother hadn’t spoken. “A gift for future campers! Working toward this common goal is key to forming the strong bonds that will last well beyond your time here at camp!” She gestured to the gazebo. “This gazebo was a gift from last year's group! Oh, and the totem pole and the sundial!”

“The sundial was _our_ year's gift!” Celestia added, looking fondly at it.

Luna gave a loud false cough. “Even though ‘some people’ thought it was a little impractical, since the sundial can't be used at night.” (Celestia rolled her eyes.)

“You all seem like a-a really amazing group!” Gloriosa said, putting on a huge fake smile. “So I'm certain you'll come up with something inspiring to leave behind!”

“Speaking of leaving things behind, now's the time when we give out tent assignments so you can leave your heavy bags behind!” Timber announced, producing two stacks of cards with images of gemstones on them. He handed one stack to his sister while keeping one for himself, going over to the girls’ side of the tent area. He shuffled them expertly, then held them out with the backsides facing up, so the assignments were random.

Each of the girls walked up and selected a card, starting with Emerald. She saw the green stone on her card and laughed, “Ha! My tent is named after me! That’s amazing!”

“How prophetic,” Gem observed, looking at her own card. “Oh good, we’re tent-mates, Emerald!” She beamed, high fiving the yellow girl. They quickly headed toward Emerald Tent while Raven and Vinyl headed for Aquamarine Tent and Octavia walked with Lyra to Amethyst Tent.

“What tent did you get, Sunset?” Twilight asked.

Sunset held up her card. “Sapphire!”

Twilight beamed, “Me too! I mean, I'm assuming I am. Heh-heh.” She adjusted her glasses. “Technically, sapphires aren't just blue. Heh-heh. They can be pink, purple, yellow...”

“Yeah, but they're mostly blue,” commented Timber. “That's why they're named after the Latin word _sapphirus_.”

“I know,” said Twilight, “But did you know that sapphires are just rubies without chromium?”

“No,” admitted Timber, “But did you know that Sapphire Tent is the best one?”

“Why’s that?” Twilight asked, puzzled.

“Because you're in it,” replied Timber, grinning at Twilight now and throwing her a wink.

He did this just as Emerald was passing by on her way to grab her backpack, which she left on the bus. Hearing his words, Emerald turned right around and marched over, her green eyes narrowed. “I bet you say that to _all_ the campers,” she said acidly, pulling Twilight away from him.

Twilight frowned at this. “Emerald, what was that about? I could’ve handled that myself!”

“Sparks, he was trying to flirt with you,” Emerald replied in a tense voice. “I could hear him talking about sapphires from my tent!”

“I’m aware of that,” Twilight shot back. “Emerald, we’re not Shadowbolts anymore! We have friends now! I don’t need you to protect me!”

“I’m protecting you because I love you, Sparks,” Emerald said, pushing the bus door open and climbing inside. “You’re making a bigger deal out of this than it actually is.” She grabbed her backpack and swung it over onto her back. She made to go back down the steps, but Twilight stood in the way, arms crossed.

“What?” Emerald asked. “What’d I do?”

“I’m making a bigger deal out of this than I actually am, am I?” Twilight said icily, glaring at Emerald now. “What am I, your trophy girl?”

“Sparks, what the hell?!” Emerald exclaimed. “I’m sorry, okay? That was clearly the wrong thing to say!”

“Don’t you ‘Sparks’ me!” Twilight exploded. “He just made a harmless comment, and you’re acting like he tried to feel me up!”

“He made a harmless comment _to a girl who’s already dating another girl_!” Emerald shouted.

“And?!” Twilight yelled. “He’s not psychic! He doesn’t know we’re dating!”

“Twilight, come on!” Emerald exclaimed, “You’re a lesbian like me! It’s screamingly obvious!”

“I’M BISEXUAL!” Twilight screamed, her voice echoing around the campground and scaring some nearby birds. She didn’t seem to care. “There’s a difference!”

“Well, I wish you’d told me earlier,” Emerald shot back, looking hurt. “Or at all! I mean geez, I told you I was trans the day we started dating!” She pushed past Twilight, her face a mix of anger and sadness. “But fine, you wanna go after the first guy who looks at you the right way? Be my guest, Sparkle!” She stormed off toward Emerald Tent, trying very hard to ignore the collective stares of her fellow campers.

* * *

The [tents](https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/mlp/images/8/8e/Twilight_and_Sunset_look_at_floating_objects_EG4.png/revision/latest?cb=20190103120831) were more like fabric huts, consisting of wooden frames with colored fabric draped over them, wooden floors, and windows to let in the sunlight. The colors of the fabric changed depending on the geode, so Sapphire Tent, of course, had blue fabric, while Emerald Tent had green fabric. Inside each tent were two twin beds, two trunks for storage, a bedside table, (actually a crate with a sheet on top) and a tasteful carpet that was also color-coded.

Gem was busy unpacking when Emerald stormed into the tent, her eyes wet with tears. She flopped down onto the unoccupied bed and screamed into her pillow, and when that wasn’t enough, she started punching it instead.

“Emerald!” gasped Gem, going right over to her friend, “What happened? I’ve never seen you like this before!”

Emerald lifted her head from the pillow, her eyes red from crying. “I think… I think Twilight and I just broke up…”

“Oh no…” Gem sat down beside Emerald and hugged her, “Oh Emerald, I’m so sorry… do you want to talk about it?”

Emerald nodded, “Guess I gotta, huh?” And she began to tell her story, recounting both sides of the argument.

Gem listened quietly, and when it was over, she simply held Emerald’s hand. “For what it’s worth… I think both of you are right.”

Emerald blinked. “Huh?”

“Let me explain,” Gem began. “I understand your need to protect Twilight. You both have suffered from years of bullying and mistreatment, and you’ve responded differently. Twilight withdrew into herself and kept herself isolated, you lash out and attack those who wrong you. Not out of revenge, but to keep the ones you love safe. And that includes Twilight.”

Emerald nodded. “But?”

“But, as Wondercolts, you don’t need to protect her anymore,” Gem continued. “But I do understand your instinct to protect her from Timber Spruce. After all, we don’t know who he is or if he truly has a crush on Twilight or not. However, if it does transpire that he _is_ interested in Twilight? That is for the two of them to work through.”

“Okay, but what if he assaults her or something, Gem?” Emerald asked. “What am I supposed to do then? Just sit there and let it happen?”

“Certainly not!” Gem cried. “At that point, you’d be well within your rights to protect Twilight as you see fit. But unless and until that becomes necessary, I repeat myself: this is not your fight, Emerald. Twilight is an intelligent girl; she _can_ take care of herself.”

“So, what do I do now?” asked Emerald. “Run over to Sapphire Tent and beg forgiveness?”

“No, no, no!” Gem said at once. “It’s far too early, and emotions are high as it is. You need to give her, and yourself, space.” She smiled. “Good thing we’re at a campground, hm?”

“Yeah… no kidding.” Emerald sighed, feeling like the weight of the world was on her shoulders. “Ugh… so much for a relaxing break.”

“There there,” Gem said, patting Emerald’s shoulder. “I have no doubt the two of you will patch things up. You still love her, don’t you?”

Emerald nodded. “More than anything… I feel complete when she’s around me, I don’t want to lose her to some bozo in the woods.”

“You won’t,” Gem said softly. “Trust me.” Then she got up and finished unpacking, leaving Emerald to do the same.

* * *

Twilight Sparkle did not cry as she entered Sapphire Tent. She didn’t scream into a pillow, she didn’t punch anything, or really express any outward emotions at all. Instead she focused on her breathing as she unpacked her things, suppressing her emotions like Spock had been known to do on _Star Trot_. At times like these, she wished she were a Vulcan.

Sunset’s voice brought her back to reality. “Hey, are you okay?” she asked, looking at Twilight with obvious concern. “I… kinda heard you and Emerald yelling. Pretty sure the whole camp heard you.”

“I apologize for the disturbance, Sunset,” Twilight said flatly, in her best science officer voice. “I did not mean to cause alarm.”

Sunset groaned. “Oh no… it _must_ be bad if you’re doing the emotionless Vulcan act. Do you want to talk about it?”

“There is nothing to discuss,” Twilight replied, but the hitch in her voice gave it away. “Emerald acted illogically.”

“Oh, I think there is,” said Sunset, coming over to sit on Twilight’s bed. “I can’t believe _I’m_ the one saying this, but you know what I can tell you from having spent the last few years observing humans, Twilight? It’s that you’re supposed to be illogical. Cold logical reasoning is no way to live your life.”

“It worked for the Vulcans,” Twilight pointed out.

“Yeah, but they’re fictional,” countered Sunset. “And you and I are real. Or at least as real as any of us can be where interdimensional counterparts are involved.” At Twilight’s impatient expression, she coughed and continued. “Anyway… the point is, you are not a Vulcan, even if you wish you were. You can’t keep your emotions bottled up. If you do… well… you and I both know what happens there.”

Twilight mutely nodded at that. “I just wish she’d see that things have changed since the Games,” she eventually said, letting the logical façade down.

“And I think she will,” Sunset said. “But what are _you_ going to do, Twilight?”

“I don’t know,” Twilight answered. “I don’t know what to do about Timber Spruce, I don’t know what to do about Emerald, and I definitely don’t know what to do about the nightmares that have been keeping me from sleeping!”

Sunset blinked. “Nightmares? What nightmares?”

“Nothing,” Twilight said quickly. “Forget it.” She finished unpacking and flopped down on her bed. “I’m going to see if I can take a nap…”

“You do look like you could use the sleep,” Sunset observed. “I’m gonna go see if there’s some snack machines somewhere, I haven’t eaten since breakfast. Maybe some toaster pastries.”

Twilight looked up. “Toaster pastries? Those barely qualify as food! We don’t even have a toaster!”

Sunset shrugged, “Who cares? I always eat them raw.” She opened her bag and went to look for some sunscreen but seemed to come up short. “Huh. I coulda sworn I packed it.”

Twilight sat up and began to search around, quickly finding the tube of sunscreen. “Found it!” she said, pointing. But as she did so, her finger began to glow magenta, as did the tube. It floated into the air before both girls, surrounded by magical sparkles. Other objects were glowing too: a pair of Twilight’s socks, a few shirts, Sunset’s duffel bag, even Twilight’s backpack.

Sunset and Twilight watched in fascination and dread respectively as the objects continued to float. “This is amazing!”

“This is terrible!” Twilight cried, the floating abruptly stopping as she dropped everything at once. “How can you be so happy about this, Sunset?! This is supposed to be the place where everyone can get away from magic!”

“Maybe I’ve been looking at things wrong,” Sunset admitted. “Twilight, I know your experiences with magic haven’t been too great so far, but trust me, it’s not all bad! Back in Equestria I was one of the most powerful unicorns alive! Magic is a wonderful and amazing thing, it’s capable of things humans can only dream of!”

“But we’re not supposed to have it at all!” Twilight exclaimed. “We only have it because _you_ brought it here! And now we’re all changing, or we were! It wasn’t until now that I’m starting to see just how terrible magic is!” She got up in Sunset’s face, jabbing her in the chest. “I don’t want levitation powers, I don’t want magic, I don’t even want to be a pony! Magic is changing everything I’ve ever known, and I just can’t stand it!” She ran off once more, this time into the forest. All Sunset could do was look on helplessly.

* * *

Twilight ran for her life through the forest, her hands pressed against her ears. A thousand voices echoed through her head: her former classmates at Crystal Prep, Emerald, her new friends at Canterlot High… but overtaking them all was a voice so much like her own, only deeper and far more dangerous.

Trying to distract herself and maybe get the voices in her head to stop babbling all at once, Twilight tried to [sing](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cMPkWYAcCxo), going with the first words that came to mind:

> _It used to be so simple_
> 
> _It was a world I understood_
> 
> _I didn't know what I didn't know_
> 
> _And life seemed pretty good_
> 
> _But now the darkness rises_
> 
> _From somewhere deep inside of me_
> 
> _Her power overtakes me_
> 
> _Can I keep this midnight from getting free?_
> 
> _If I can stay with the light_
> 
> _I know I'll be free_
> 
> _And I can start to be whole_
> 
> _I can start to be me_
> 
> _But instead I am struggling_
> 
> _With all that I see_
> 
> _And these friends_
> 
> _Mustn't see the midnight in me!_
> 
> _The midnight in me!_
> 
> _They mustn't see the midnight in me..._

As she approached a lake, she saw herself for a few seconds. Her eyes were red with tears from crying, and she looked like she hadn’t slept in days. But then her image rippled, and suddenly she was gone, replaced with Midnight Sparkle.

Twilight gasped. “Midnight Sparkle… how can you be here?!”

Midnight laughed a little. “I’m a part of you, remember? I exist as long as you do! But I’m also made of Equestrian magic, which means I can do _this!”_ With that, Midnight climbed out of the lake, making no ripples. In fact, she didn’t seem wet at all. She looked down at Twilight, smiling widely. “At last we meet,” she said. “Go on, Twilight. Touch me.” She offered her hand.

With shaking fingers, Twilight reached out to touch Midnight’s hand. She made contact. It felt hot, like touching an exploding star. “You’re real…”

“I told you,” Midnight said, sitting down next to Twilight on a log. She was wearing the same outfit she’d worn at the Friendship Games, and was just as tall as she had been then too, though this was Twilight’s first time seeing her in person. She saw Twilight looking at her and smirked. “Like what you see?”

Twilight squeaked. “I… I… yes…” She had to admit, it was _fascinating_ to see one’s own evil twin. “It’s not fair... you’re taller than me by at least a head, you have a bigger chest...”

“Dark magic can do wonders for a girl’s physique,” Midnight purred, stroking Twilight’s cheek with her finger. “It can also let me do _this_.” She snapped her fingers and [transformed](https://bit.ly/2NAVF5D), shrinking somewhat to match Twilight’s frame, gaining glasses like hers, even her hair resembled a wilder, untamed version of Twilight’s usual cut. Her outfit was different too, a black short-sleeve top with a pale blue tank top, matching pale blue shorts, black tights, and black boots with pale blue accents. “How about this?”

“Now you really do look like me,” whispered Twilight. She polished her glasses and tried to think rationally. “Well, if we’re going to coexist at the same point in space, we may as well get to know each other... why are you here?”

“That’s up to you, little sister,” Midnight said, giving a dark smile that showed all her pointed teeth. “Looks to me like you could use my help.”

“Your help?!” Twilight exclaimed. “How could you possibly _help_ me?! You almost destroyed the world!”

“No, _we_ did,” Midnight said calmly. “And okay, maybe I was a little hasty last time. But what of it? We’re smart girls, we can come up with another plan.”

“Stop saying we!” Twilight clapped her hands over her ears again, “I’m not you, Midnight!”

“Yes, you are,” Midnight thundered, changing back into her Friendship Games appearance. She grabbed Twilight’s arms and held them so the scientist couldn’t move. “How many times do I have to explain this to you, Twilight?! I was created when the magic in the spectrometer was released, I am your darker nature made flesh and blood! As long as there is magic inside of you, I will exist!”

“Then maybe I should get rid of all the magic!” Twilight shouted. “It’s already harmed countless people, who knows how many others might get hurt if it’s allowed to remain here?”

Midnight cackled. “Don’t be ridiculous, Equestrian magic is part of this world now. It’s changing our universe’s physical laws to accommodate it. Even here, in this dinky little campground, it’s starting to manifest.” She smirked. “But you know that already.”

Twilight nodded. “So if it’s already here, and I can’t stop it... what _can_ I do?”

“Embrace it, Twilight,” Midnight said, putting her hands on Twilight’s shoulders. “ _Embrace_ the magic. Become one with it, let yourself use it and become a goddess. You can strike down everyone who ever wronged you: The Crystal Prep girls, those so-called friends of yours... _your ex-girlfriend.”_

“SHE IS NOT MY EX-GIRLFRIEND!” Twilight yelled.

Midnight cackled again, “Isn’t she though? That little argument you had seemed final to me. And oh look, here you are at a camp with her for the next week.” She shook her head. “It’ll be torture... unless you smite her down, or maybe make her your servant.”

“NO!” Twilight shouted again, “I could never hurt her, ever!”

“You already have, Twilight,” Midnight pointed out, standing up. “Embrace the magic and finish the job.” She walked back toward the surface of the lake. “Anyway... I can’t hold this body for much longer, but I’ll always be in here when you need me.” She tapped her heart. “And you _will_ need me.”

Then, blowing Twilight a kiss, Midnight stepped back into the lake and dissolved into nothingness, as if she had never been there in the first place.


	6. The Midnight in Me: Part 2

Once the sound of Twilight’s footsteps had faded away, Sunset wasted no time in grabbing her phone (albeit manually, after several attempts to use telekinesis as Twilight had done) and sending a text to the rest of the girls in their group chat:

 _Meet me by the picnic tables. We need to talk about Twilight_.

In short order, the six friends gathered around one of the picnic tables near the lake, with Gem, Raven, and Vinyl on one side and Sunset, Emerald, and Octavia on the other. Sunset got the meeting started. “Okay... I think it’s pretty clear to everyone that something is seriously up with Twilight.”

“I quite agree,” said Octavia. “I don’t think I’ve heard her raise her voice to anyone until today, and to her own girlfriend no less!”

“If you can still call us that,” Emerald grumbled. “That sounded like a break-up to me.”

“After one argument?” Gem raised an eyebrow. “That hardly seems fair. I don’t think Twilight is the type to abandon people so suddenly.”

Emerald shrugged. “Wouldn’t be the first time...”

Sunset hugged her. “I wouldn’t worry about that, Emerald. I think your relationship is safe. But I do have to ask, since you know her better than the rest of us... has she been acting strange lately? Before camp, I mean?”

Emerald nodded, “Yeah, now that you come to mention it... she’s tired all the time now, like she doesn’t get as much sleep as she should.” She looked around, then leaned in slightly so her words were only audible to the others. “To tell you the truth, I think it might have something to do with her nightmares.”

“Nightmares?” Sunset blinked a few times. “What nightmares?”

“It started after the Games,” Emerald explained. “Whenever I’d sleep over at her place or she’d come over to mine, she’d have really horrible dreams about Midnight Sparkle taking control of her or you girls abandoning her. I tried to help her, but it doesn’t seem like anything’s working.”

“So she’s trying to avoid the problem by not sleeping,” Sunset said, tapping her chin in thought, “But the sleep deprivation is causing her to lash out randomly... and the more upset she gets, the easier it would be for Midnight to return.”

“Okay, hold the phone,” Vinyl interrupted. “I thought Midnight Sparkle was gone. Didn’t you destroy her during the Games, Sunset?”

“I thought I did,” Sunset replied, “but there must be a small part of her still in Twilight’s mind. Add the spread of magic around the area, and it’s entirely possible she could use that magic to grow even stronger, maybe even give herself a body of her own instead of being part of Twilight!”

“Then what do we do?” Octavia asked. “Confront Twilight and try to use friendship magic on her like we did with you?”

Sunset shook her head. “No. If we did that, she’d try to defend herself, which would mean letting Midnight take control. We have to act like nothing is wrong, but keep an eye out for any strange behavior. I’m her tent-mate, so I’ll be doing most of that.” She groaned. “I wish the portal wasn’t so far away... I could really use Princess Twilight’s help with this.”

“We can do this,” Raven said, smiling.

“Looks like we won’t have long to wait to find out,” Vinyl said, pointing. “Twilight Sparkle at two o’clock!”

Sure enough, Twilight was approaching the main camp from the path that led to the forest, looking anxious. When she saw the girls were looking at her, she glanced away and walked around the table toward Sapphire Tent, avoiding them altogether.

“Heavens...” whispered Gem. “That’s not good, is it?”

The other five nodded in mute agreement.

***

Over the next couple days, relations between Twilight and the rest of the girls were frosty at best, though not overtly hostile. Twilight seemed to withdraw into herself, reverting to her old Crystal Prep, pre-Emerald self; she spent most of the day in her tent or outside underneath a tree, her nose in a book. When she could be coaxed out to join the rest of her fellow students in a group activity, she performed her required tasks in relative silence, speaking only when directly spoken to.

Not helping matters was that one by one, the rest of Twilight’s friends had begun manifesting magical powers of their own. Gem now had the ability to conjure magical shields, Emerald could manipulate sound waves and even use a loud noise to knock an opponent back several feet, Raven had supersonic flight, Octavia had super strength, Sunset could read someone's mind simply by touching them, while Vinyl had the opposite of Emerald’s powers: she could silence anything she wished.

The girls had all been happy to discover their new magical abilities, even if they couldn't figure out why they were there in the first place.

"We need Twilight's help," Sunset eventually told the others. "But she won't talk to me. It'll have to be someone who is as neutral in this situation as possible."

"How about me?" asked Octavia, raising her hand. "My powers are easy to conceal, which might keep her calm and avoid any... explosions of temper."

"Emerald?" Gem asked, "What do you think? She's your girlfriend, after all."

Emerald nodded. "Go for it, Octy. If there's anyone who can bring her back to us, it's you."

Octavia blushed. "Your vote of confidence in me is appreciated. I shall leave at once!" Adjusting her t-shirt slightly, the cellist hurried off toward the tent where Sunset and Twilight slept. Sunset followed along, planning to stay out of sight but nearby in case things went wrong.

***

When Twilight had first come to Camp Everfree, she had assumed it would be difficult for her to build a scientific instrument, but her meeting with Midnight Sparkle had helped her to see that it _was_ still possible... provided she used magic to do it.

And so, she had begun to explore the campground, searching for anything that could have served as a magical wellspring, like the portal in Canterlot. She'd found nothing in the campgrounds themselves, but the day before, she'd found something _very_ interesting in one of the surrounding caves: a glowing crystalline tree. It was small, probably still a sapling, but the magic that radiated from it was enough to make the hair on Twilight's neck stand on end.

But it was what was held inside the tree's branches that especially interested her. There were seven circular geodes, one for each of her friends as well as herself. Twilight had reached out to touch the purple one, which had a star embossed on its face, and shrieked in surprise as the magical equivalent of an electrical shock passed through her.

As the magic of the geode coursed through Twilight's body, it bonded with the latent magic from the tree, causing a small magical storm to form. Purple storm clouds filled the cave's ceiling, and magical lightning struck. One of the bolts hit Twilight, and her form began to glow. Dark, maniacal laughter echoed off the walls as a humanoid form began to take shape in another part of the cave, away from the tree's light.

"Finally, a body of my own!" said Midnight Sparkle, as she solidified. She approached Twilight, a predatory grin on her face. "Why, hello, _Mother_... how nice to see you again."

Twilight stepped back, her eyes wide with fear. "Get away from me!" she cried, standing up. The storm had passed, and the magic had calmed down.

Midnight shook her head. "Twilight, honestly... I don't want to hurt you, I just want to talk. We're women of science, aren't we? And I have a few ideas you might be interested in..." She snapped her fingers and floated the seven geodes toward her, and set them orbiting around her head like planets around a sun. "Starting with these!"

"What _are_ they?" Twilight asked, stepping forward.

Midnight shrugged. "Your guess is as good as mine, Twilight. But they do seem pretty magically powerful, if they’re part of this crystal tree.” She began to pace, like Twilight always did when she was mulling something over. “You see, I've been thinking. I know how frightened you are of magic. But despite your fear, you still want to study it. So what if we built a magical container? Something that can take magic out of something, or someone, and store it away for further study?"

"I suppose something like that _is_ possible," Twilight allowed. "But how can it be built? This is a low-technology area!"

Midnight chuckled. "Twilight, Twilight, Twilight... you don't need _technology_ , you need magic! And you've got plenty of it right here!" With that, Midnight drew up some blueprints and handed them to Twilight, who took them. "Crystal is an excellent magic conductor," she explained, "and the tree has a lot of it!"

"Won't that damage the tree?" Twilight asked.

Midnight shook her head. "Nah, it'll regenerate. Watch!" With surprising strength, she snapped one of the tree's branches clean off and gave it to Twilight, who watched in amazement as a replacement branch formed at the break. It was as if nothing had happened.

"Amazing..." Twilight whispered. "Okay, you win, I'll build this gun."

Midnight grinned. "I knew you'd see things my way. Come on, let's get back to the tent."

"You're coming with me?" Twilight exclaimed. "Aren't you a magical construct? What if someone sees you?"

Midnight laughed, "I'm flesh and blood now, Twilight, just like you," she said. "As for someone seeing me? Easily solved." She snapped her fingers again and faded from view, having turned herself invisible.

"Wow..." Twilight whispered. "I guess I have a lot to learn about magic."

"And I'll be the one to teach you," Midnight purred, re-entering the visible spectrum. Taking Twilight's hand in her own, the two girls headed back toward the campsite.

***

By the time Twilight returned to the tent, Midnight had made herself invisible once again. Twilight wished for her lab coat and goggles as she got to work on building the gun according to Midnight’s blueprints. It looked for all the world like an ordinary handgun, except made of crystal and using the seven geodes as a power source. Additionally, rather than firing a bullet, it would instead suck magic out of anyone it was aimed at, leaving them otherwise physically unharmed.

As Twilight finished her work, Octavia reached the tent and poked her head in through the flap. “Twilight? Do you mind if we…” she froze, seeing the crystalline gun in the purple girl’s hand. Her eyes widened and she stepped back, as if afraid. “Twilight… what are you doing?”

“Oh, hello Octavia,” Twilight said, looking up. “I was just finishing up my latest invention. What do you think?”

“What do I think?!” Octavia stared at Twilight as if she’d grown a second head. “I’m starting to wonder if you’re at all mentally sound! First you snap at Emerald, then you avoid us all during what is meant to be a vacation, and now you do this? What in the world is going on?”

“What’s going on is progress!” Twilight cried, a crazed gleam in her eyes as she and Midnight began to meld together. Twilight’s skin darkened to a deep purple, and her voice dropped in pitch as she grew taller. “Magic is a menace… but it can still be studied! And this is the way to do it!” She fired the gun, pointing it right at Octavia’s heart.

A jet of black light with wisps of green and purple smoke fired from the gun and hit the cellist, who collapsed and began to scream as magic was forcibly drained out of her. “SUNSET! HELP!”

“OCTAVIA!” yelled Sunset, diving from her hiding place and trying to help Octavia stand, only to find Twilight’s gun pointed directly at her head. Throwing herself out of the way, she twirled and let off a spinning kick, knocking the gun from Twilight’s hand and flying into a tree, where it shattered, the stolen magic returning from whence it had come.

Enraged, Twilight (who had now transformed into Midnight Sparkle once again) spread her dark wings and flew into the air, glaring at Sunset. “Honestly Sunset, what is it with you and standing in the way of scientific progress?!”

“THIS ISN’T PROGRESS!” Sunset yelled, as a strong wind began to blow and storm clouds billowed into existence, flashes of lightning striking here and there. “THIS WAS ALMOST MURDER!” She pointed to where Octavia had fallen, the cellist was struggling to stand between the strength of the wind and being suddenly drained of energy. What was more, Sunset could see Octavia’s vividly purple eyes had faded to a light grey.

“What is it you humans say?” Midnight asked, smirking. “Oh yes, you can’t make an omelet without breaking a few eggs!” She cackled delightedly, “But fine, if I can’t drain magic here, then I’ll just go to where the action is! So long, Baconhair!” She flew off into the storm, headed south toward Canterlot… and, Sunset knew, toward Equestria.

Sunset didn’t waste any time. Seeing the shattered remains of the crystal gun nearby, she picked it up and found seven colorful geodes fell neatly into her hand. One of the geodes had her own cutie markon it while the other six had a treble clef, a bridged eighth note, a watch, a bird, a magical spark, and a sound wave.

Fascinated, Sunset ignored the pouring rain and pressed the geode to Octavia’s neck. A purple chain snaked out and wrapped itself comfortably around the cellist’s neck, fitting it perfectly.

But that wasn’t all. As the magic was restored to her, Octavia began to glow and change, transforming from a human into a pony for the first time in days. Grey fur sprouted from her skin, she got a tail, her feet shifted into hooves, and her ears changed shape and position. In a few seconds she was thoroughly transformed, and her eyes opened, a brighter purple than they’d even been before.

Looking at herself, Octavia let out a startled whinny and sat up. “Sunset... what happened? I feel like I was hit by a freight train!”

“Midnight Sparkle shot you with some kind of magic stealing gun,” explained Sunset, leading Octavia into the dry tent. “But I gave it back to you.” She gestured to the geode around Octavia’s neck, “This, I’m pretty sure, is our world’s version of an Element of Harmony.”

“I see.” Octavia nodded, fingering the geode. “And what does an Element of Harmony do?”

“In Equestria, they’re the most powerful magical objects known to ponykind,” Sunset said. “When Princess Luna turned evil, they banished her to the moon for a thousand years, and then Princess Twilight used them to turn her back to normal when she returned.” She smiled bashfully. “I stole one of them during my bad old days.”

“I remember,” said Octavia, smirking slightly. “And my Element was enough to change me back into a pony?”

“I guess so,” Sunset said. “It caught all the magic Twilight stole.” She held up the six remaining Elements. “We have to get the girls together, give them their Elements, and haul flank to Canterlot. Twilight’s already on her way, planning on draining magic from everypony there.”

“Then let’s not waste any time!” Octavia agreed, picking Sunset’s Element out of the pile and handing it to her.

Sunset put on her Element, smiling as the necklace chain wrapped itself around her and she began her own transformation. In just a few seconds, she too was a pony again. Grabbing Octavia’s hand, the two mares got to work.

***

In a few minutes, Sunset, Gem, Octavia, Vinyl, Emerald, and Raven were reunited, given their Elements, and returned their pony forms. By now the magical rainstorm that was made when Twilight changed into Midnight Sparkle had blown itself out, though the skies were still cloudy and dark. What was more, night was falling, and the other campers had retired to their tents for the evening.

"I just have one question," Emerald said, as the six of them marched through the empty campground. "How the buck are we getting to Canterlot? We can't exactly trot or gallop there."

"No," admitted Sunset, "But there _is_ a bus here." She pointed to the yellow school bus they had arrived in, which had been parked on the grounds for the duration of their stay so far.

"Sunset Shimmer!" Gem exclaimed, "I'm surprised at you! Why in the world do you think it's appropriate to steal a _bus_? You don't even know how to drive!"

"It's the only transport we have, Gem!" Sunset shot back. "What else are we supposed to do?"

"We _could_ ask one of the principals for help?" Gem replied, gesturing to the cabin where the two sisters who ran their school slept.

Sunset blinked. "Oh. Guess I didn't think of that."

"Luckily, cooler heads prevailed!" Gem knocked on the cabin door at that, her furred knuckles sounding slightly odd on the wood.

The door opened and Vice Principal Luna poked her head out, looking confused. "Miss Shadow, why have you and your compatriots transformed into ponies?" she asked.

"It's a long story, Vice Principal Luna," Gem answered. "But we need to return to Canterlot, it's a magical emergency."

Luna nodded. "And would this magical emergency explain why Miss Sparkle is not with you?"

"She turned evil again," Emerald said, as if that explained everything. "And flew back to Canterlot to exact revenge or something."

"I see." Luna sighed and withdrew a ring of keys from her pocket. "Tia? I am going out for the night, I will return in a few hours!"

"All right, Lulu!" Celestia called back, making her sister blush.

Luna marched toward the bus and climbed into the drivers' seat, unlocking the doors so the six mares could board. They did so, and once they were all buckled in, Luna started the engine and guided the bus away from camp, back toward the entrance.

***

In Canterlot City, all was pandemonium. A veritable hurricane had struck the town, uprooting trees and tearing buildings apart. The work of the city’s weather pegasi had been entirely upended, turning what had been a warm summer’s day into a hellish stormy nightmare. But the town’s citizens, all changed into ponies, were all too magically exhausted to panic or fight. They simply lay on the ground, allowing the storm to roll over them. Unlike their four-legged cousins through the mirror, these ponies had no experience with magical maelstroms.

At the eye of the storm, high above CHS, was Midnight Sparkle. Having drained Canterlot of its magic, she had grown in size to gigantic proportions. Currently she was resting, allowing the stolen magic to circulate through her body and allow herself to regain some energy. As it turned out, she hadn’t needed that crystal gun after all, just the dark magic that had made her was enough.

Suddenly however, something caught her eye: a yellow school bus was zooming into town, being driven well in excess of any speed limit. The bus pulled up in the faculty lot and seven ponies stepped out: most of them were unicorns, but there was also a pegasus, an earth pony, and an alicorn among them.

Recognizing them instantly, Midnight flapped her wings and flew down to meet them, a devilish smirk on her face. “Well, well, well, if it isn’t the Justice League,” she said, shrinking herself down so she could look them all in the eye. “If you were hoping to stop me, you’re a little late… I’ve already drained all the ponies here of their magic!”

“Yeah, I noticed,” Sunset said, folding her arms. “But we’re not here to fight you, Twilight… we’re here to _help_ you.”

“Help me?!” Midnight scoffed. “Don’t be ridiculous. No one can help me! And anyway, my name is _Midnight_ Sparkle, understand?! The stupid, foolish, naive girl you knew as Twilight Sparkle is dead, there is only me now!”

“Not a chance!” Raven exclaimed. “As long as you’re alive, Twilight is too! Symbiosis and all that stuff!”

“More like antibiosis,” Octavia commented. “Midnight has done nothing but harm Twilight since she came into existence!”

“I made her stronger,” Midnight shot back. “She doesn’t need jerks like you anymore!” She spotted the geodes the other six mares were wearing, and her eyes widened. “You… you stole those from the gun Twilight built! Those are mine!” She reached out a hand to try and levitate them off their owners by force, but found her magic blocked.

“No, they’re ours,” Gem said firmly. “But there’s one extra…” She opened her hand to reveal the one remaining geode, made of purple crystal with a star on the front resting in her palm. “This one is Twilight’s.”

She threw it at Midnight, who caught it, and sneered. “A piece of fancy jewelry? What’s the big deal?”

“These are the Elements of Harmony,” Sunset said. “I represent the Element of Empathy. Octavia represents the Element of Healing, Raven is Bravery, Gem is knowledge, Vinyl is hope, and Emerald is Loyalty.”

“But there are seven geodes!” Midnight said. “What’s the last one?!”

“The most powerful one of all,” Emerald said, looking Midnight right in the eye. “Magic.”

“Ohhhh, I see what you’re doing,” Midnight said, chuckling. “You think you can destroy me with these Elements, huh? But they won’t work unless we’re _all_ connected, and your precious Twilight is a little tied up at the moment!”

“But not for long,” Sunset said. “Girls, join hands.”

There was a brief pause as all six mares took one another’s hands. Then, Sunset (who was leading the group) reached out and grabbed Midnight’s hand. Her eyes and those of her friends went white, as their minds melded with that of Midnight’s. Now caught in a trance, the seven girls fainted.


	7. The Midnight in Me: Part 3

“Where are we?” Octavia asked, looking around. Restored to their human appearances once again, they were all standing around in what appeared to be in the middle of a pink and red [nebula](https://bit.ly/2FVtGwM), but they could breathe, and the air wasn’t cold at all, but neither warm nor cool. What was more, despite there not being a flat surface that they could see, they all felt as though some kind of a floor was holding their weight.

“I think we’re inside Twilight’s head,” Sunset said. “Look!” She pointed, and the six girls could see little windows that they soon realized were Twilight’s memories: being babysat by Dean Cadance as a little girl, reading _Daring Do_ books, pillow fights with her brother, and more. There were also more recent memories, like the Friendship Games and that long evening spent talking at Sugarcube Corner.

“These are great and all,” said Vinyl, “But I got a question: where’s Twilight?” Indeed, it seemed she was not among them.

“I think I might know,” said Emerald, her eyes widening behind her glasses. “Everyone shut up!”

There was a pause as everyone stopped talking, simply letting the memories drift by in silence… except for the distant sound, barely audible, of a little girl crying.

Emerald knew exactly who that voice belonged to. She ran toward the sound, the others following along in her wake. The closer they got, the louder the sound became, and soon they could see something quite strange: a younger version of Twilight Sparkle, probably 7 years old, with a deep cut on her arm left there by a cat with dark purple fur and glowing blue eyes.

Emerald approached, crouching down so she could speak to Twilight at her level. “Hey, Sparks,” she said softly. “What’s up?”

Twilight pointed a shaking finger at the dark cat. “That cat scratched me!” she said, showing Emerald her wound. “Her name is Midnight… at first she seemed nice, but then she started acting really mean, even to me, and now she hurt me!” She looked into Emerald’s green eyes, her own purple ones wide with fear. “Is there anything you can do to help?”

“There sure is,” Emerald said, and held up her geode so Twilight could see it. “See this? It’s magical. Outside of here, I’m actually a unicorn.”

Twilight shook her head a few times. “That’s ridiculous,” she said. “Unicorns don’t exist!”

“Oh no?” Emerald smirked a bit. “Watch.” She clutched the charm in her hand, and in a flash of white light, she was a unicorn again.

“But… that’s not scientifically possible!” Twilight cried. “ _You_ are not scientifically possible!”

“Maybe not according to human science,” Sunset said, approaching the pair. “But we ponies have science of our own.” She too changed, though not into the bipedal unicorn form she had in the real world, but the four-legged one she’d been born in.

Twilight looked between the two unicorns, puzzled. “How come she only has two hooves,” she began, pointing at Emerald, “but you have four?” She pointed at Sunset.

“I’m not exactly sure myself,” admitted Sunset. “But if I had to guess, it probably has something to do with morphic resonance, and how it differs between this world and mine.” She paused, dragging herself back on track. “What I mean is… I wasn’t born a human like you were, Twilight. I was born a pony, and when I came to this world and brought magic with me, these girls started to become ponies too.”

“Does it hurt?” Twilight asked, looking at Emerald.

“Not at all,” Emerald said truthfully. “I mean, having a tail takes some getting used to, but overall it’s pretty cool.” She held out Twilight’s geode. “This belongs to you, Twilight. Put it on, and you’ll change like us.”

Twilight reached out to take the necklace, but before she could touch it, the cat hissed loudly and swiped at Twilight’s hand with its claws, scratching her again. Twilight squeaked in surprise and began to cry again as the new cuts started to bleed.

The cat abruptly changed into Midnight Sparkle, just as she’d looked during the Friendship Games. “Don’t listen to them, Twilight,” she growled. “They’re lying. All magic gets you is pain and misery.”

“Pain and misery that _you_ inflicted on her!” Gem said loudly. “Twilight isn’t a fool, she’ll see through your lies just as any of us would!”

Midnight scoffed. “If that were true, you wouldn’t be _here_ right now.” She gestured expansively at the star-scape around them.

“Twilight,” Octavia began, kneeling down to help clean Twilight’s cuts and bandage them, “May I ask you a question?”

“I guess so,” Twilight said, watching the cellist at work. “What’s that?”

“Are we your friends?” Octavia asked.

Twilight paused, and had to think about that. She felt as though she should know these girls… but something was stopping her from really recognizing them. “I… don’t know,” she said at last. “Who are you?”

“Well, my name is Octavia Melody,” Octavia said, “And these are Emerald, Sunset, Gemini, Vinyl, and Raven.” She smiled. “And I promise, we are your friends.”

“But she isn’t,” added Raven, pointing at Midnight. “She’s been trying to hurt you this whole time!”

“How do you know?” Twilight asked. “Do you have evidence?”

“The best evidence of all,” Sunset said. “Your memories.” She grabbed a passing square and brought it down so Twilight could watch it. “Careful… this might be hard to watch.”

“But we’ll be with you the entire time,” Gem promised, taking hold of Twilight’s hand.

Twilight nodded silently and adjusted her glasses, then focused her attention on the little screen. A memory, specifically the last event of the Friendship Games, played out from her point of view. Though there wasn’t any sound, Twilight could still see the Shadowbolts sing the song that spurred her to open the magic detector she’d built, and transform into Midnight Sparkle for the first time.

But she also saw that the six girls she was here with didn’t run away. Instead, they helped anyone who was about to fall into the portals Midnight had made, and close them up with their own powers. Another memory came, showing all seven of them having fun and enjoying each other’s company. Several more memories showed Twilight with Emerald, in that special companionship reserved for one’s partner.

“You see?” Gem said softly. “This is what friends do. We spend time with each other, and help each other out if we need it. And I think you need a lot of help.”

Twilight nodded, and began to shake with fear as Midnight turned to look at her. “Midnight scares me… she keeps telling me that I’m damaged… that my friends don’t really like me.”

“Yeah, well, she doesn’t know you like we do,” said Raven firmly. “You can kick the darkness's butt!”

“You are a light, darling! A force for good!” added Octavia.

“You are in charge!” exclaimed Sunset.

“We're here for you, Twilight!” Vinyl added.

“And we'll be here, no matter what! We believe in you!” Gem said.

“I wouldn’t be dating you if I didn’t love you more than life itself, Twilight Sparkle,” Emerald said softly, looking Twilight in the eyes. “When we had that fight at camp… it felt like the end of the world. But I never gave up on you, not even once. I never stopped loving you, even when it seemed like we were done.” She smiled softly. “I never want to be apart from you, Sparks… never again. So… I have to ask. When we’re both old enough… will you marry me?”

“Yes,” replied Twilight at once. She’d grown up as the memories of her friends poured back into her, and now she stood, her lavender hands clasping Emerald’s yellow ones tight. “I will marry you, Emerald! Of course I will! Because you know why?”

Twilight turned on the spot and faced Midnight Sparkle, glaring. “I am _Twilight Sparkle!_ And the magic I carry inside of me is the magic of friendship!” She grabbed her geode necklace and threw it on, transforming in a flash of light into a purple-furred unicorn pony. The seven mares gathered in a circle and rose into the air, magic alone keeping them aloft. A rainbow formed and streaked toward Midnight, who screamed… and everything went white.

* * *

Moonlight shone on Twilight Sparkle’s equine face. She sat up, briefly glancing over her new body. Two legs ending in hooves, a soft purple coat, a tail that matched her mane, triangular ears that could move about at will, a curved muzzle rather than a flat human nose and mouth, hands with only three fingers and a thumb, and of course a horn on her forehead.

But for once, this form didn’t feel strange or alien… it felt right, like finally returning home to a safe place. She smiled, watching her friends get up from their trances. “Girls! You’re awake!” she cried, springing to her hooves and launching herself at Emerald, who laughed and kissed her deeply, their muzzles meshing perfectly.

“It seems like we still have a lot of work to do,” Gem observed. “This town looks like a hurricane struck it.”

“Then let’s get to it,” Sunset said, dusting herself off. Her eyes fell on the damaged Wondercolt statue. “If we use the Elements this close to the portal… we might be able to plug the leak. But only by rapidly accelerating the transformation.”

“I think the changes are irreversible already,” Twilight said, when she and Emerald finally separated. “Midnight took me to a cave in the woods, and I saw a crystal sapling… that’s where these came from.” She gestured to the Element geodes.

Sunset nodded. “I thought as much…” Looking to the others, she asked, “Are we ready?”

Gem nodded. “I am.” She put her hand out, and one by one, each of the other six mares placed their hands on top of it to form a stack. Then, joining hands one more time, they rose into the air, and a magical rainbow flew into the air.

* * *

Starting from Canterlot, a rainbow of light covered every square inch of the planet. In seconds, every remaining human found themselves changed into a pony, with magic helping them adjust by subtly altering their human memories to accommodate their new species instead. Unicorns were suddenly able to cast magic like it had been there all along, the same with pegasi and flight, and earth ponies with plants.

In Canterlot, those who’d had their magic drained found it returned to them, and the damage Midnight had done to the buildings was repaired. The portal to Equestria was fixed too, its cracks sealed and the horse statue brought back altogether.

When it was all over, the seven friends looked at one another in awe. “We did it…” Sunset whispered, fingering her geode. “We saved the world…”

“And made it anew,” Gem added, watching the pegasi dart to and fro above them, putting the sky back in order.

“Congratulations, everypony,” said Vice Principal Luna, approaching them at last. “And welcome back, Twilight Sparkle. Shall we return to camp?”

“Please,” Vinyl groaned, yawning widely. “After all that, I feel like I could sleep on my hooves…”

“Very well then,” Luna said, turning back toward the bus. “Come along!” She strode off toward the bus, and the seven saviors of the world climbed aboard. Luna started the engine, and the bus pulled out of the parking lot and into the night, a full moon shining high above them.

* * *

The rest of the Camp Everfree trip passed uneventfully. Timber Spruce apologized to Twilight and Emerald for hitting on Twilight like he had, and the assembled campers worked on building a dock. Though there were a few setbacks, work finished quickly enough that everypony was able to enjoy it for the rest of the last week at camp.

On the last evening before their departure the next morning, Twilight, Emerald, and their friends held a short concert, performing a selection of songs from the Battle of the Bands as well as some new songs, such as “Shine Like Rainbows” and a solo song Sunset wrote for herself, “My Past is Not Today.” (She and Twilight sang it as a duet.) Especially popular were the tunes written during their time at Camp Everfree, like “Legend of Everfree” and “Hope Shines Eternal.”

It was well after dark by the time Emerald and Twilight found themselves alone. They sat together at the edge of the dock, their hooves barely in the water, holding hands and looking into each other’s eyes.

“You know something?” Emerald asked softly.

“I know a _lot_ of somethings,” Twilight teased. “But what?”

Emerald kissed her gently on the cheek. “You’re beautiful.”

Twilight blushed faintly and said, “As a human, or as a unicorn?”

Emerald laughed. “Like that makes a difference? You could be a talking spider-girl for all I care, I’d love you just the same. And I’d still think you’re beautiful, no matter what species you were.”

“I think the same about you,” Twilight admitted. “It just feels strange to hear it from somepony else about me.”

“Well, don’t worry about it,” Emerald said. “Believe me when I say you’re worthy of it.”

“Likewise,” replied Twilight, looking up at the stars. “You know what I was thinking?”

“What were you thinking?” asked Emerald.

“I was thinking… now that we’re ponies, but we still have human technology… combine that with magic, and entirely new branches of science could open up, the likes of which we can scarcely imagine now.” Twilight smiled. “Think of everything we could discover! Doesn’t that sound amazing?”

“It does,” admitted Emerald, smiling back. “As long as we discover it together.”

Twilight nodded. “Of course. After everything… I’m never letting you go, Emerald Wave. Not for anything.”

“Back at ya, Twilight Sparkle,” Emerald replied, kissing her again. “Now come on, let’s go to bed.”

“Let’s,” Twilight agreed. Taking Emerald’s hand, they both stood up, stretched a bit, and walked back down the dock toward their tent, their tails entwined.


End file.
